Golly Prompts
by BaileyChabot
Summary: This is a collection of prompts I've received on Tumblr ( Each chapter is a new prompt. The prompt is at the top of each page).
1. Gail UC at high school Holly teaches

**Anonymous said: I have a golly story you could write.. Gail is undercover as a teacher at high school in holly is a science nerd teacher**

A/N: I pulled some inspiration from 21 Jump Street a bit here. I hope you like it.

High school sucked. She felt that way when she was a student and she still felt that way now that she was a 'teacher'. When Frank had offered her a chance to go undercover, she knew she couldn't say no. She might have reconsidered had she known she was headed to Runnymede High School as a Phys. Ed. replacement for the retiring Mr. Bradley.

The assignment was not her first choice; kids she loved, teenagers, she did not. When she showed up on her first day in September, she figured she'd be there for a few weeks. She just needed to figure out where the drugs were coming from then she could bow out as "Ms. Taylor" and continue on with her life as Gail Peck. Unfortunately it was proving much more difficult than she had initially planned.

She watched the kids run laps around the gym as she lounged on the bleachers. She was unusually sympathetic to the less athletic kids, remembering what it was like for her. Gail had always had a trim figure but it was certainly not due to any specific actions on her own part, she was just blessed with fast metabolism. She had been a mess of gangly limbs when she had tried to take part in sports, making gym her least favourite class. It was the reason why she didn't say anything when a group of kids walked their laps while they chatted.

Her initial thoughts about the case were that the chemistry teacher had been producing the new synthetic drug in the lab after hours, but when Ms. Pierce had left suddenly (Gail thought it was a nervous breakdown from dealing with hormonal teens; the school maintained that she moved to Ottawa when her husband was suddenly relocated) nothing changed. This was confirmed when a replacement wasn't found immediately and several substitute teachers had filed through the post without so much as a hiccup in the drug supply.

She was starting to get annoyed that she was having such a difficult time penetrating the drug ring. Mostly because she was a Peck and doing a job at even an average level was not acceptable, but also because if she was there past Christmas she'd have to teach the sexual health unit. That was going to be a disaster. How was she going to teach the kids how to put a condom on a banana without a look of disgust on her face? How is she going to point at a picture of an erect penis and explain all its parts without turning a bright shade of crimson? It's not that she isn't an adamant believer in safe sex, it's that she hates the feel of latex on her hands and never much enjoyed penises, erect or otherwise. _Oh God, if I have to show how tampons work to these bags of sex-crazed hormones I'm going to move to Mexico and defect _Gail thought as she absentmindedly walked into the teacher's lounge.

_**CRASH**_

The sound of books hitting the floor as she looked into the brown irises of an excited woman she had accidentally bumped into. She thought for a moment that maybe this was an over-zealous student trying to get help from a teacher at lunch time but she was quickly shaking the hand the woman in front of her thrust forward.

"Hi! I'm Holly Stewart" the taller woman chirped as she started collecting textbooks from the floor. "I'm the new chemistry teacher. Well technically, I'm not a teacher, I'm still a student myself" she babbled. Gail tried to take this woman in all at once but her senses were overwhelmed so she just shook her head and blinked her eyes a few times. The woman was still talking.

"… my PhD in biochemistry at the U of T. I think grade 12 chemistry should be easy, shouldn't it?" she asked the blonde.

"Why are you saying all these words?" was all Gail could respond.

The brunette just stood and smiled warmly at the blonde.

"I'm sorry" she smiled even brighter. "I'm just nervous. It's my first day and I've never taught high school kids before. I'm used to teaching 22 year olds who've chosen a chemistry major, not 16 year olds who are being forced by their parents. Plus, my kid sister is in this class so the 'cool' bar has been set pretty high".

Gail saw the opportunity instantly. The new chemistry teacher with the innocent looking face and sister in the student body was going to be her key to infiltrating the drug ring and getting out of this school before she has to talk to teenagers about oral sex... erm, she meant so she could get this job done properly as soon as possible for the safety of the student body.

"I'm Gail Taylor. I have the next period as a prep block. Want me to sit in? Make sure you're cool enough for the kids?" she asked.

"Really? You wouldn't mind? I think the feedback would be super helpful" the brunette gleamed.

"No problem. Just let me eat my lunch and I'll meet you in the lab" she nodded as she continued into the teacher's lounge. Gail was excited to finally be making progress.

She beat most of the students to the class, opting to sit in the middle of the room closest to the wall. She didn't want to sit in the front and sit next to the keener students. They were too enthusiastic for her, but she didn't want to sit at the back with the stoners and other kids that didn't care. The middle seemed like a good place.

"Hey guys!" the ecstatic chemistry teacher shouted out to the room full of students. "I'm Ms. Stewart. Did you hear that oxygen went on a date with potassium? It went OK."

Gail tried desperately to stifle her giggle while the nervous teacher smiled awkwardly at her own joke. The students were poker faced and Gail swore she'd be able to hear a pin drop. The attempted humour having fallen flat, Ms. Stewart reached to open her text book but instead clumsily knocked the pile of tomes to the floor. Gail scanned the room and noticed a girl with dark brown hair and olive skin cringe and slap her hand to her forehead. _Holly Stewart kid version_ the blonde mentally noted.

"Hehehehe" came the nervous staccato laugh from the front of the room. Holly was trying to gain her composure and Gail could tell she was failing miserably, the awkward sounds having just come out of her mouth not helping at all.

"Let's start into our first lab. I'll demonstrate first then you guys will do it at your benches" she said as she pulled a labeled bottle from underneath the lab bench. "Has anyone ever heard of the Pharaoh's Serpent?" she asked with exaggerated enthusiasm. The students didn't utter a single syllable save for one eager beaver in the front who said 'no' with an apprehensive head shake.

"Well then!" Holly exclaimed "let me show you! This is Mercury thiocyanate, a white, odourless powder with low solubility. It does very interesting things when heated though". With a wriggle of her eyebrows she pulled a butane torch out from under the bench and lit the flame.

Holly started explaining the chemical compounds of the Mercury… whatever-it-was-called. The blonde had zoned out when the science-y talk started because she knew this wasn't relevant to her and was instead thinking about which kind of gun she should buy when the flames of the torch managed to catch on the teacher's sweater. Gail watched the horror spread across the face of the new teacher. She just stood there with a horrified look on her face as the flame spread up the synthetic fabric of the shirt. Gail jumped to the woman's aid. She turned to the wide-eyed expressions of the students and told them to start their homework questions as she pulled Holly into the back office.

After she thoroughly doused the flame and checked for burns, Gail finally looked at Holly's face. The woman was still in shock. The blonde felt bad. She remembered her first day, and although it was nowhere near this bad she felt like it had been a total disaster. Now the woman who was standing in front of her had a first day that was _actually _a disaster.

"At least you didn't burn the school down?" Gail offered by way of cheering up.

Holly chortled. "Yeah. It could have been worse. I could've brought my bow and arrow and accidentally shot one of them" she said with a wry smile.

"You have a bow and arrow?" the blonde asked without thinking.

"I'm an archer. It's surprisingly calming"

"That's weird" Gail responded.

Holly just looked at her with a defeated look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry" the blonde said quietly. "But it honestly could have been much worse. At least you're memorable" she said with a shrug.

"I guess. At least I wasn't trying to teach the kids to cook meth" Holly said as she pulled her arm from the running water. Gail's ears perked up immediately but one look at the brunette told her she was making a bad joke.

"Plus, my sister had these weird breath mints in her bag and, I don't know, maybe I'm allergic to something in them? But I've felt super weird since I've been eating them. I've been sweating like crazy and my tongue keeps doing this weird thing". Holly clacked her tongue around her mouth as she crinkled up her nose. The woman was high as a kite.

Gail took a deep breath. "Holly, where did your sister get those mints?" the blonde tried not to let the excitement she felt coursing through her veins take over her emotions.

"I don't know Gail. I didn't ask her for them, I found them in her bag. Why?" as she started blinking her eyes repeatedly.

"Don't freak out Holly, but I think you might be high. There have problems around campus with a new synthetic drug that looks like breath mints. It's possible that that's what your sister had in her bag" Gail said calmly. Holly's eyes went wide.

"Oh my God!" she shouted. "I am stoned" she whispered when she realized the students could hear her.

Gail tried to stifle her giggles but it was hard. She was finally making headway in her case and she had this adorable woman to thank. And the brunette was being so cute right now as she panicked.

"Did you sister mention where she got the mints from? Has she spoken about drugs at school in any capacity?" Gail tried.

"Umm…. She said the captain of the hockey team always has these mints and he shares them with the rest of the guys on the hockey team but never with anyone else. She's seen it at parties and always thought it was weird. Wait! Does that mean my kid sister is druggie? Am I a druggie?" she asked with a shocked expression.

Gail couldn't contain it any longer and started to laugh. This case had suddenly taken a strange but very welcome turn. She was going to enjoy working with the new chemistry teacher.


	2. Gail's cousins from Chicago visit

**Anonymous said: Golly story.. Gail gets a susprise visit from all three of hers cousins from the show chicago fire, Chicago Pd and SVU and holly gets jealous because gail is spending more time with these ladies more then her until holly has enough in finds out that all three women our Gail's cousins in holly confess her feelings how she feels about gail and her cousins tell gail holly a keeper..**

A/N: I have not actually seen any of these other shows so I'm just running with the idea that the three cousins are strong, beautiful women- a mental match for Gail, if you will. I'm sorry if you were hoping for specific characters Anon.

Enjoy!

"Stop!" Gail shrieked as the blonde woman on top of her continued to tickle her.

"Never!" Taylor laughed as she continued to pin down the woman underneath her.

Gail's high pitched screeches mixed with both women's laughter drowned out the sound of the front door opening and closing. Holly walked into the home she shared with her girlfriend. Her girlfriend who was wearing a thin tank top and short shorts as pajamas. Her girlfriend who was currently pinned beneath a gorgeous blonde on the couch. _Their_ couch. Holly was seeing red instantly.

Having not been noticed, Holly slowly walked down the hall to their bedroom, wanting a minute to herself to collect her emotions. She was a calm woman and didn't like outbursts, especially when they were coming from her. She'd had a particularly bad day and was hoping to spend a quiet evening with her girlfriend watching a movie, not sharing Gail with a strange woman.

Holly took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom she shared with the blonde officer only to find that it too was occupied by beautiful blonde women. She blinked a couple of times, wondering if she was seeing things. Two platinum haired, fair skinned sirens were lounging on her bed, eating ice cream and watching TV.

Nope. This was not okay with her.

She did an abrupt 180 degree turn and marched into the living room. The sound of her heels against the hardwood floor as she stomped down the hall was enough to alert her girlfriend this time.

"Hi baby!" she said as she jumped up from underneath the stranger. One look at the brunette's expression and she knew something was amiss. "What's wrong Holly?" she asked.

"Gail, you know I don't care who you invite into our home, but did you really not think about how I would feel when you invited gorgeous women in for tickle fights?" she asked in a strained voice, wishing they had some privacy.

Realization washed over Gail's face followed quickly by a smirk. Holly was jealous.

"Baby, are you jealous?" she asked as she wrapped her arms around her girlfriend.

"Obviously" Holly replied in an annoyed voice even though her body was reacting to the woman wrapping herself around her.

"Hol, these are my cousins from Chicago. They surprised me. We grew up thick as thieves" she said with a quiet laugh. "I don't know that my sleeping with them would qualify as illegal, but it would certainly be gross".

Holly blushed. "Oh" was all she could manage.

"Hol, this is Taylor" Gail started as the woman in the living room joined them in the kitchen to introduce herself. "And in our room are Melissa and Fiona, Taylor's younger twin sisters" she finished.

Holly nodded, still feeling embarrassed when Gail leaned. "You're sexy when you're jealous" she rasped in the brunette's ear. Holly was instantly glad for the three strange women in her home.


	3. Rookies catch Golly being cute

**Anonymous said: Gail and Holly: Gail's fellow Rookies oversee them being cute and cuddly and tease Gail (but secretly think it's cute how happy she is)**

"Hey Nash, I've got that report that-"

"SHHHHH!"

"What?"

"Shh! Keep it down McNally!"

"Okay… Why do we need to whisper?"

"Because of that"

McNally follows the direction that the detective is pointing to find Gail and Holly standing behind a pillar. Their vantage point in the detectives' office gave them full view of the floor, including behind the large cement post where the pathologist and officer were tucked away to have a brief moment.

"Is that Gail… smiling? at a person who is currently in her personal space?" Andy asked the detective as they both watched the cute couple down below.

"Yep. She blushed earlier when Holly kissed her cheek" Traci replied.

"Seriously? I think I saw her punch Nick in the face when he kissed her cheek once" the officer responded.

"I know. Holly makes her happy"

"No, Holly makes her a better person" McNally remarked sarcastically.

Nash turned to look at her friend. "Gail always had it in her. She's finally with someone that brings it out of her".

"Nash! Swarek sent me up here to ask if you-"

"SHHHHH!" both women turned to hush Diaz.

He stopped in his tracks. "What's going on?" he whispered, still as a statue. McNally pointed at the blonde officer and her girlfriend who were currently making funny faces at each other and laughing.

Diaz marched over to the windows surrounding the detectives' desks that separated the area from the rest of the floor. His eyebrows arched in surprise.

"Is that Gail letting Holly put her hand through her hair?" Chris turned at looked at the other two women to confirm what he was seeing. They both nodded at him.

"I tried that once and she actually growled at me. Growled!" he said in a hushed voice.

"Chris! We're supposed to be back on patrol. Oliver just said-"

Chris made a zip-it face at his best friend, pointing to his ex-girlfriend and her new girlfriend. Dov took the hint immediately and slowly approached the glass to see what was happening.

"Are you seriously standing here watching two girls make out? One of whom is a cop that we work with, the other is the city's best dead people doc" Dov said as he witnessed his colleague kiss the pathologist.

"Ewww, no" McNally was quick to correct while Diaz slapped him on the arm.

"Just wait to see what happens after the kiss" Nash told him as Holly started walking toward the door.

Gail watched her leave, not taking her eyes off the brunette until she had passed through the controlled doors, but not before turning to give the blonde one last wave goodbye. A look of happiness was painted across Gail's face.

"Wow" the three officers said at the same time, in disbelief that Gail could be so attached to another human being. Traci stood silently smiling. She knew Gail would find her someone. She was glad it was Holly.

Chris was just about to make a comment to the effect that he didn't know Gail had this sort of emotional depth when the blonde below abruptly turned and looked right into the detectives' office, making eye contact with them all. She very visibly mouthed the word "dead" as she ran her index finger along her neck.

"Scatter!" Chris shouted as the two other officers scrambled to get away from Gail as quickly as possible. Dov nearly tripped over McNally, while Chris almost ploughed into Swarek as he ran out of the office.

Nash just slowly moved back to her desk.

"What was that about?" Swarek asked as his girlfriend ran past him with a look of terror on her face.

"Nothing. Everything is good, actually" she replied with a nod. "Everything is great".


	4. Gail asks Holly questions

Golly prompt - Set during the wedding, while Gail is asking lots of curious questions. Gail asks Holly how two girls dance together, Holly shows her ;)

"What's it like dating a woman?" The curious blonde had finally had enough liquid courage to ask the question.

"I don't really know how to answer that" the brunette replies with a chuckle. "And I've never dated a man, so it's hard to offer a comparison".

"Okay. Well then who cooks? You or her?" The officer takes another sip of her champagne.

"Whoever wants to cook. It's usually me because I enjoy it, not because I have the longer hair" Holly says as she nudges Gail playfully with her shoulder.

The officer giggles but continues her line of questioning.

"Who does the outside work? Like, who mows the lawn and takes out the trash?"

"Have you never mowed the lawn or taken out the trash Gail?" the pathologist asks incredulously.

"Nooooo. That was always Steve's job, and when he moved out my dad took over" Gail defends herself playfully.

"What about now?" Holly replied.

"We don't have grass to mow, Nerd. I live in an apartment, remember?"

"I meant the trash, genius" the brunette quips back.

"Oh. The frat boys take care of that" the blonde replies sheepishly. "Fine. Who pays for dinner then?" she gestures at no one with her glass of bubbly.

"You don't need a penis to pay for dinner" Holly says with a laugh.

"Okay. What about closet space? I mean, is it crazy sharing a closet with another person who has as many clothes and shoes as you do?"

"I don't have that much stuff, so it's never been an issue. Plus, the only time I've ever lived with a woman we had a master suite with a walk-in closet, so it's not like it was cramped. Besides, I only have like 10 pairs of shoes. How many shoes do you own that you are worried about them finding a place in a closet?" the doctor teases.

"That is classified information, Lunchbox. So is it still fun getting dressed?" Gail asks.

"What do you mean?" the brunette says with a laugh.

"Well, I mean that's the most fun part of a date is getting dressed. I mean, how does it work if two girls are getting dressed together?" Gail replies as she gesticulates with her flute.

"I don't know. How does it work with a guy?" Holly responds.

"Well, I mean, if you live together he gets dressed first and then… you… get… dressed. It's very stupid. Stupid question."

The brunette doesn't say anything. She just smiles and takes a drink from the bottle she stole from one of the tables.

"What about if you want to borrow a dress or shoes or clothes? I mean, is that cool? Do you share each other's things?" Gail asks with an inquisitive look on her face.

"I wouldn't share your things" the pathologist replies teasingly.

"What is wrong with my things?" the officer replies defensively.

"Nothing" Holly says with a laugh and a shrug, "they're just not my style".

"Oh, not enough fleece for you Holly? Not enough backpacks?"

Gail's rant is interrupted by the feel of soft lips pressing chastely against her own. She barely has enough time to react before the taste of champagne and lip gloss that isn't her own is absent once more from her lips.

"You are insane, you know that, right?" Holly says as she pulls herself up from underneath the coatrack they had hidden themselves under. "I'm gonna take this with me, if you don't mind. Plenty more out there" the brunette shakes the bottle of champagne so Gail knows what she's talking about.

"Sorry… Where are you going?" Gail asks, the shock of the kiss still working its way through her brain.

"Dancing. I kind of need to get it out of my system. Thanks! That was fun. Plus one forever!" Holly says as she toasts Gail with the entire bottle.

"Wait, are you going by yourself?" the blonde asks, still confused by the events of the past few minutes.

"Do you want to come?" she asks as a joke. The look in Gail's eye tells her the blonde does.

"I don't know how to dance with another woman" Gail stutters.

"I'll show you" Holly tells her as she reaches for her free hand.

The taller woman leads her partner to the dance floor. A soft ballad is playing and the bride and groom are slowly shuffling to the tender beat. Holly pulls Gail so their fronts are pressed together. She can feel the blonde's breath hitch at the sudden closeness. She places her right hand firmly on the small of Gail's back while her left hand finds Gail's right. Then she starts to move slowly to the music, her hips winding subtly but enough that Gail can feel the seductive movement. Holly starts to hum the tune in the shorter woman's ear, cheek pressed to cheek. She feels Gail relax into her body, letting Holly lead her movement. The two women gracefully sway to the tune.

When the closing notes finally play, Holly steps back. The loss of contact forces Gail to open her eyes. The look in the pathologist's eyes has changed from one of playfulness to one of longing. Her mouth pulls up in the corner, giving Gail her patented half smile.

"Plus one forever" she whispers.

And just like that she's out the door.


	5. The Hockey Game

i have a good A/u if you would write it back im a big blackhawks fan hockey.. gail is blackhawks fan in holly is maple leaf fan they meet at hockey game. in the both have to kiss each other on the kissing cam..

"I can't believe you got such amazing seats!" Holly said to Lisa as they headed behind the home bench, only three rows up. "We can actually see the holes from their missing teeth up here!" she continued excitedly.

"I know. My boss gave them to me. Actually, I told him I was taking them tonight. He couldn't use them anyway, so why shouldn't we enjoy a night out?" Lisa replied. Lisa was a bitch Holly knew, but she did get things done. Case in point: awesome seats for tonight's Leafs game against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Holly was slowly inching her way past fellow Leaf fans to their empty seats in the middle of the row, when she spotted two lonely Blackhawks fans. They were both surly looking, sipping at their beer, in their teams jersey. The brunette sat quietly next to the pair and nodded her head in greeting.

"Oh great" the blonde woman in the red Toews jersey started, "I was hoping we'd be near people with taste".

"Relax, Gail" the ginger man next to her replied. "We are sitting in the Air Canada Centre. Obviously there will be more of them than us".

Holly ignored the pair. She was going to enjoy herself tonight even if the people around her weren't. Lisa shot Gail and the guy next to her a look of death and the blonde woman replied in kind. Except the blonde's was much more intense without actually trying. Holly was both impressed and terrified.

The game was tense, both teams never managing to get more than one goal ahead of the other. But what made the game even more personal for Holly was the fact that every time the Blackhawks scored, Gail jumped up, high-fived the guy next to her (she heard her call him Steve), and then she'd proceed to do an obnoxious celebration dance where she stuffed her jersey in Holly's face. Holly wanted to rip that damn logo off the woman's shirt. She tried to keep her cool, but she found herself repeating the dance in front of the blonde every time Toronto scored. She couldn't help the competitive streak in her.

It was the third period and the Blackhawks had just evened the score. It looked like the game would be going into overtime. Gail was leaning over their shared armrest, taunting Holly.

"Ohhhhh, looks like the Leafs are going tonight! I'd bet you're used to it though. How long has it been since you've won a cup? Not in your lifetime, that's for sure" Gail said.

Holly was about to give the blonde a piece of her mind when she heard the people around her start to cheer and clap. She looked around but the game was still stopped. It wasn't until she looked up that she could see her face and the blonde's next to her captured on the big screen with a tacky pink heart around them. Underneath she read the words "Kiss Cam".

She was about to shake her head 'no' in disgust when she felt two hands pulling her in. The blonde woman kissed her. And she kissed her with the same passion that she had been jeering her with all night. But what surprised Holly more was that the kiss was just as tender and sweet as it was demanding and domineering.

Holly was stunned. It had been a _long_ time since anyone had kissed her like that. She could hear the crowd cheering them on. After Gail pulled away and picked up her plate of nachos, Holly was still paralyzed, staring at her. Gail's hand reached out once more to the brunette's cheek, this time to push her head so she was looking forward again.

"Keep your eyes on the ice, Leaf fan"


	6. Haunted Maze

group of 15 going to scary places before halloween over gail takes holly to haunted corn maze (where people jump out on you) in holly is so scared but she feels safe when she knows gail protect her.

"Come on, Gail. It'll be fun!"

"What exactly is fun about paying money to have people jump out at you and almost crapping your pants? I'm a cop. You're a dead people doc. Don't we see enough scary things in our day that we don't need this sort of "entertainment"?" Gail pleaded with her girlfriend.

"Where's your sense of adventure?! This is gonna be great!" Holly exclaimed as she pulled up to the Haunted Maze of Horrors, aka "Gail's Hallowe'en surprise". Gail was not impressed. She did not like surprises. She liked being scared even less.

"Yeah, I think I'll wait here" the blonde replied as she crossed her arms in protest.

"If you do this with me I'll let you do that thing you've been asking for" Holly said as she wriggled her eyebrows.

Gail rolled her eyes and started opening the passenger side door.

"That's not fair! You can't barter sex for favours! You know I can't resist. And I showed you the pictures. I know you want to do that thing too, you just don't want to admit it!"

Holly just shrugged and headed to the entrance. She bought two tickets and started leading Gail to the start of the maze.

"It's a good thing I left my gun at the station" was all Gail said as she moved shifty-eyed behind her girlfriend.

Thirty seconds later, after the first zombie reached out in near total darkness to grab at the women, Holly changed her tune.

"I don't want to do this anymore, Gail. I've changed my mind. We can go back" she said in hushed voices, not wanting to give away their position to any other creatures of the night.

"Ummmm, no way, Nerd! We are getting through this thing then we are going home and we are doing page 83 if it's the last thing we do!" she whispered back as they slowly inched along.

"You memorized the page?"

"Is that really what's important right now?"

"Fine. We can still do page 83 if we leave right now" she said as she pulled the blonde back toward the entrance.

"No. We made a deal. I get through this, we do page 83. I don't go back on my word" the officer replied with a focused sense of determination. "I'll protect you" she promised.

And protect Holly she did. She karate chopped reaching arms, kicked at grabbing hands, and nearly punched one "zombie" that tried to pull Holly in another direction. Word was spreading fast that a violent blonde and her girlfriend were moving through the maze and the zombies became less and less interested in their particular brains. It was all fine by Gail who was practically running through the maze by that point, the finish line in sight.

"Won't be the first time I finish tonight" she boasted to Holly as she proudly marched the two of them through the exit. The comment earned her an eye roll and a playful elbow to the rib.

"Oh look, Gail! We can get pictures of us in the maze! I want to show everyone how you were my hero!" Holly pointed to a bank of TVs that showed terrified maze-goers being harassed by the undead.

"Nope. We're leaving. I held up my end of the deal. We're going to my place" she told the pathologist as she grabbed her hand and started pushing through the crowd.

"Babe, the book is at my place"

"Don't worry, I downloaded a copy"

"You downloaded the Lesbian Kama Sutra?" Holly asked in surprise.

"Duh" was all the blonde replied as she opened Holly's car door.


	7. Gail surprises Holly in SF as a caroler

Gail x Holly prompt: Having not talked in 8 months, Gail shows up on Holly's front doorstep in SF at Xmas, semi-incognito with a bunch of carollers (perhaps it was something they joked about doing together once?)

_I can't believe it's almost Christmas_ the pathologist thought to herself as she set out her poinsettia. _I can't believe Gail isn't here_ was her next thought. She tried once more not to let her thoughts slip away to the blonde officer she left in Toronto. She knew she'd made a mistake, she'd felt it the second the plane took off. Her life was supposed to be with Gail, not away from her. But her contract stipulated that she had to stay for a minimum of one year and Holly was not one to break her word. So she pined for the woman she loved instead. It wasn't any help that the women had agreed to part ways amicably but that trying to continue their relationship would be just too hard. The distance was too great and their lives were heading in different directions.

She was listening to her favourite Christmas carols, the ones she'd loved since childhood, and continued to decorate. Even though she'd never spent a holiday season with the blonde she was surprised at how much of her she could feel around her. The poinsettias that were a deep red, the same colour Gail would paint her lips when they'd go out. The glass balls she used to decorate her tree and how the officer had once told her a story about how she'd broken her mother's favourite Christmas ornament and glued it back together, thinking nobody would notice.

And the carols. Gail loved to sing and Holly loved listening to her sing. She had wanted to go caroling with her girlfriend, _ex-girlfriend_she reminded herself, this Christmas. Gail knew how much Holly loved Christmas and they had talked about all of the activities they would do together: skating in front of City Hall, seeing the Nut Cracker, spending Christmas Eve with Gail's family (much to Gail's chagrin), and then spending the entirety of Christmas day just the two of them. Holly could see them cuddled up in front of the tree, exchanging gifts, and watching Miracle on 34th Street (Holly's favourite) then the Grinch Who Stole Christmas (Gail's favourite). It was all she had wanted for them.

She was putting the finishing touches on the tree, making sure the tinsel was evenly spread across the evergreen when she head the knock at her door. She wasn't sure who'd be showing up unannounced at her place but grateful for the distraction from her thoughts.

She opened the door and was pleasantly surprised to find a chorus of carolers. Before the group dressed in matching red berets started serenading the brunette one woman at the front handed her a card. She smiled despite being unsure what to expect. The singers let her read the card before they started.

_Dear Nerd,_

_I know you had wanted to do this together but I thought sending carolers would be a close second. Well, maybe a distant tenth, but I miss you and I want you to enjoy this._

_Gail xoxox_

Tears were threatening to spill the second she saw the handwriting. She looked up at the smiling faces in front of her as they started on their a Capella rendition of "O Come All Ye Faithfull". Holly just let the tears fall down her cheeks as she listened to the beautiful voices harmonizing. She thought her heart was about to burst from the pain of missing Gail when the solo started. The group of singers parted to make room for a single singer to stand front and centre.

One single voice, so perfect she could listen to it forever. The tears were pouring from her eyes and she had trouble focusing but through the haze she could still make out the sapphire eyes of the soloist. She was reaching for the blonde before she was finished her solo, her lips muffling the last note.

Applause was all she heard from the chorus that had shown up at her doorstep unannounced. Both women held onto each other as the tears streamed d0wn their faces.

"Merry Christmas, Lunchbox" she heard Gail whisper into her ear.


	8. AU in Undergrad, Golly falls in love

Golly prompt: College AU Gail and Holly have been friends for a while and one of them has the feeling that the other may feel something for her. Person A confesses to person B while they are baking a cake, doing domestic stuff...

She couldn't pinpoint the exact moment in time when things changed; she just knew there was an instant in the past four months that turned everything upside down. And she couldn't believe it had taken her this long to realize it.

Gail had met Holly on move in day; they had both applied for single rooms and were both unpleasantly surprised to learn that they were to be roommates. Gail was much more vocal and obvious about her displeasure, but Holly was just as annoyed. The brunette had requested a single room so that she could study in peace. The flat screen TV and video gaming system that was coming through the door with her new platinum blonde bunkmate told her she was going to have to wear earplugs.

Holly quickly learned that she had misjudged Gail. She was very respectful of her study habits. She wore her headset when she gamed and even turned the TV so it faced away from her when she noticed the flashing lights of the graphics distracting the brunette.

So Holly made the effort to reciprocate. One day, she offered to help Gail with her laundry because she was going to do hers and did she want to come? Gail accepted, much to Holly's pleasure, because truth be told the blonde's laundry was starting to pile up and it was driving the brunette crazy. So maybe the offer wasn't totally self-less, but Holly was okay with that.

"Is this _your_ shirt, Gail?"

"Obviously. It's in my pile of laundry" the blonde replied as she continued to swing her legs from her perch on top of the washing machine.

"I didn't know you liked Star Wars" Holly said as she continued to sort the dirty clothes.

"Star Wars is so cool. I would have thought you liked SciFi considering how often you get your nerd on" the blonde replied.

"Having good study habits does not make me a nerd. And I do like Star Wars" Holly said as she pulled an identical shirt from her own pile. "See?"

The next two hours flew past as they discussed which of the original films was the best. Not able to come to a consensus, they agreed that a movie marathon was in order. And just like that, they had become friends.

Months passed and the two women fell into a comfortable routine. Other students on their floor joked that they were like an old married couple. Gail was responsible for cleaning the bathroom and grocery shopping, while Holly was responsible for cooking and laundry. It worked well, for the most part, but they bickered like an old couple too, sometimes.

"Gail! I asked you to get onions. What are these?"

"It's onion, Hol. What do they look like?"

"They look like _green _onion. I need _white_ onion. I showed you the recipe!"

"Why would I look that closely at the words on the recipe? It had a picture of a delicious dish. I didn't see what kind of onion went in it, nerd. So this is not my fault."

Despite the occasional spat, they usually shared chores to keep each other company. Gail would follow Holly to the laundry room and they'd talk like they had been friends forever. Then Holly would go with Gail to the supermarket and they'd saunter up and down each isle, not paying much attention to what was going in the cart.

It was one easy Saturday, just like all the Saturday afternoons before, that Holly told Gail a secret while they were walking up the cheese puff isle.

"Gail" the brunette said as she stopped walking. The stop in movement and the tone of her voice told the blonde this was a serious conversation that was about to happen.

"Yeah, nerd?" she asked, looking back at her friend.

"I… I think I'm a lesbian" the taller woman said as she looked to the ground. She couldn't look Gail in the eye for fear of her reaction.

"Okay" was all she got in reply. She looked up, confused at the simplicity of the answer. Gail was already busy pilling their cart high with her favourite neon orange treat.

"That's it?" Holly asked shocked.

"Sure" Gail replied with a shrug. "We can talk about it if you'd like, but I'm okay with it. Besides, I kind of figured. You _did_ volunteer to fold my underwear" she teased.

Holly blushed slightly but laughed. She knew Gail was a good one. This was just further proof.

It wasn't long after that, that things started to get weird between the two. Gail could feel Holly pulling away from her, spending more and more time at the library instead of their shared space. She was starting to wonder if it was something she'd done. When she saw Holly's study partner in the hall one day, she asked if she'd noticed something was different with her.

"She has been acting different" Traci told the blonde. "She's been really distracted lately. I think she has feelings for someone and they are getting in the way of her studying" she told her.

"Feelings for someone?" Gail could feel herself shrinking. The news that Holly felt that way about someone but felt she couldn't tell her made her feel like maybe the brunette didn't trust her. But there was something else too, an emotion that ran deeper. Jealousy? Gail couldn't believe she was upset that Holly liked someone else. She was even more surprised by the torrent of feelings that came flooding over her for her roommate.

"Yes" was all Traci said in reply.

The barely audible "oh" that Gail uttered was met with an eye roll from Traci.

"It's you dummy! She was feelings for you, Gail!" she finally blurted out after a moment of silence.

"Seriously?!" the blonde said hopefully.

"Yes. She's liked you for a while; she didn't want to ruin your friendship"

"Huh" was all the blonde could manage.

"Fix this. I'm going to have to find another study partner if she doesn't get her head out of the clouds soon"

Gail just nodded and walked away.

That Saturday, Gail got up early and went to the grocery store before Holly even woke up. When she got back, Holly was at her desk, reviewing her notes for her midterm next week.

"Hey, nerd. I went shopping early today so we could bake a cake this afternoon as a study break" the blonde greeted her roommate as she entered the dorm.

"Sounds good. I need it. I can't stare at these formulas for much longer. I think my brain is melting" she replied with a sigh.

Gail just smile as she turned on her Xbox.

Later that afternoon, Gail finally pulled Holly away from her books, but only after warning her that too much overloading would actually cause her to retain _less_ information, not more. Holly finally relented with the promise that Gail would let her study while the cake was cooling. Gail agreed.

It was when the cake was cooling that Gail found her opportunity. She had come up with a plan this morning while she was at the grocery store in the baking isle. She had seen the chocolate chips (Holly's favourite guilty pleasure) and the idea hit her instantly. She wasn't sure how she was going to execute her plan, but now that Holly had her nose back in her books, she knew it was now or never.

She didn't call Holly back once the cake had cooled and instead iced and decorated the dessert herself. Then she brought the finished product over to show the brunette. Her heart stammered in her chest as she slid the cake on to Holly's desk, next to her textbooks. She couldn't look at her, she just set it down and then walked over to her bed. She closed her eyes because she felt like she couldn't watch the brunette's reaction.

The silence was deafening. She was sure Holly had looked at the cake but the time it took her react felt like an eternity to Gail. She was about open her eyes and sprint out the door, possibly knocking Traci out for telling her that Holly liked her, and then running far away and never coming back, when she felt soft lips against her own.

Her eyes shot open and a tearful Holly was right there in front of her.

"I heart you too, Gail"


	9. Bubble Bath

Alright. I'm working on this. I think I'm going to change it up a bit…hopefully you'll like it.

Now for you. Gail secretly likes bubble baths. Holly is out of town but Gail uses her key to use Holly's tub - because icky boy roommates. Candles around the bathroom etc. Holly comes home unexpectedly.  
>GO!<p>

A/N The song Gail is listening to is Crazy In Love by Kadebostany. Not jazz, but very sexy.

This story is rated 'M' for… well, you know why it's rated M ;)

Enjoy!

She was exhausted. She'd worked double shifts the last three days and today was the icing on top of the shit-cake that was this week: she had to tackle a naked man on a pile of over-ripe trash. The sprinkles on the cake was the fact that Holly was headed out of town today for a conference for something to do with dead people and they weren't going to have a full day together until next weekend. Fuck.

The silver lining was that Gail was going to be staying at her girlfriend's place while she was gone (to bring in the mail, obviously, not because she loved the scent of Holly on her pillows). And with Holly's place came Holly's ensuite.

The ensuite was secretly Gail's favourite part of the pathologist's townhouse. This was the room where their sex was most creative, using the hard surfaces that jutted at different angles to try new positions; lights that could be turned up entirely to spotlight Gail while she's performing a striptease for the brunette, turned off completely so they have to rely on their sense of touch in their throws of passion, or any setting in between; and the detachable shower head that has been used on several occasions for various purposes, all of which dirtier than it's intended use. Simply walking into the bathroom was all it took for blood to rush from Gail's limbs to her groin, her brain subconsciously preparing her body for what usually happens in this room.

She sighed when she walked into the bathroom, stretching the soreness from her limbs. Holly wasn't home, which meant she had to use the bathroom for its intended purpose and she had decided that she was going to have a bath. Not only was she going to have a nice bath, the blonde decided, she was going to have a luxurious bath. She pulled out her favourite bubble bath (the matching scent to Holly's body wash), some candles she found in the dining room, turned off the lights, and turned on some music. _Just because Holly isn't here, doesn't mean I can't enjoy the space_ she thought as she turned her iPod to her _Slow Dance _soundtrack.

She loved baths, although she never admitted it to anyone. She wasn't sure why but she'd always kept it a secret. Her own bathtub was never a place she was going to lay her bare skin. As it was, she wore flip-flops in the shower because boys are gross and did weird things in the shower, she'd decided. So a bath in Holly's tub was that much more magical for her.

She'd filled the tub with hot, hot water, topped with a frothy layer of bubbles to titillate her olfactory receptors and to create a silky film on her own skin. She was humming along to the song playing, slowly taking the time to run her hands over her tired muscles, kneading out the knots she felt in her quads.

Holly walked into her front door expecting the TV to be on and a grouchy blonde police officer to be lounging on the couch, drinking a beer. If it had been a bad day, maybe the tequila bottle would be next to her. She knew Gail was home because her car was in the driveway, her boots in the hallway, and her various articles of crap strewn about, but the woman herself was nowhere in sight. _Shit _Holly thought, _she must have had a _really _awful day. _ She was glad she had decided to come home that evening, with her conference hosting a social tonight and her first seminar not starting until mid-day, she wanted to spend some time with her girlfriend.

Holly slowly started up the stairs, hoping to gauge the situation before entering. She knew it was possible that Gail was passed out in her bed, having had back to back 16 hour shifts. But as she climbed the stairs, she could hear the slow, languid notes mixed with heavy bass coming from the speakers in the ensuite. She could hear her girlfriend humming along to the raspy lyrics, her voice lilting along with the horns, water splashing to match the sound of cymbals crashing.

She watched quietly, not wanting to disturb the blonde, as Gail propped her foot along the end of the tub, her skin glistening from the soapy water. The officer examined her leg before gingerly placing the razor blade near her ankle, careful not to nick the delicate skin there. She traced the blade up her leg, past her knee and down her thigh, dipping past Holly's line of sight, still humming along to the music. The soft shadows the candles cast along her pale skin, the steam from the water causing beads of perspiration along her forehead. Holly watched her girlfriend, relaxed, uninhibited, guard down.

Holly was so turned on.

She decided she was going to join her girlfriend in the tub, realizing that of all the surfaces in the bathroom, including the toilet tank, the bathtub had never seen any action. She decided that that situation needed to be rectified. 

The brunette slowly unbuttoned her blouse, letting it fall to the floor. She undid her slacks, sliding them down to meet her blouse. She was standing in her bra and panties when Gail finally noticed a presence in the room with her.

Her cobalt eyes turned to meet the rich chocolate brown of her girlfriend's. If she was startled, Gail never showed it. She just smiled at the woman.

"Hey, baby. What are you doing home?"

"I don't have to present until tomorrow afternoon so I wanted to spend some time with you" she said with a sly smile.

"Oh" Gail replied, not missing the look lust in Holly's eyes. She smiled back as Holly started to slide the straps of her bra down her shoulders. She unhooked it as she moved toward the tub. She shimmied her panties down past her knees and kicked them to the side. She slowly slid into the tub, facing her beautiful girlfriend.

She set herself comfortably across from Gail, knees touching, and leaned in for a kiss. Her attempt was refuted by Gail's index finger against her lips. She was surprised, seeing her desire reflected in Gail's own eyes, that Gail would shut her down. She was about to open her mouth to question her when the blonde started to blow out the flame on all the candles.

Darkness settled around them.

Holly was acutely aware of her skin; how the heat of the water contrasted with the cool air; the feel of the bubbles tickling against her nipples; most importantly, she could feel the nails of her girlfriend scraping along her abdomen. She couldn't stop the moan that escaped her lips but was quickly silenced by the feel of soft lips against her own.

She reached out for the blonde, her hand finding its way to her hip as she pressed further into the kiss. The sound of their lips meeting and parting couldn't be heard over the sound of the music, the bass reverberating through the water and dancing across their skin.

The exhaustion Gail had been feeling all day was gone. The desire she felt for her the naked woman pawing at her was overwhelming. She could feel her blood pumping through her veins as she reached out to pull the woman closer, her nerves feeling like exposed wires. Their kisses were instantly more demanding, almost violent as both women took what she needed.

Holly knew this wasn't going to be slow or tender, that it was going to be raw and guttural. She pulled herself onto her knees, and found purchase on Gail's taught ass to pull her up to the same position. The blindness of both women made their touches clumsy but so much more urgent. Holly could no longer see the desire in the eyes of the woman she loved, but she could feel it in her grip, in the way she groaned as their hard nipples grazed each other, and in the way she was massaging her favourite spot, right where the back of her thigh met her ass.

She couldn't take anymore foreplay. She needed more contact now.

"Gail" she rasped, having a hard time keeping her breathing steady.

"Yeah, baby?" she responded, knowing what Holly needed, but making her ask for it none-the-less.

"I need you.."

"You need me to what, Hol?" as asked, her voice deep with lust.

"I need you to…" Holly gasped. Just then Gail slid her hand between her legs, using her finger to part the brunette's folds to dance around her entrance. Gail had no intention of spending much time toying with her, but she couldn't help her own moan when she felt her girlfriend's wetness. Holly was so aroused that even the bath water wasn't enough to wash the slick lubrication away, making Gail feel a gush of her own wetness.

She was just about to ask again what Holly wanted when the pathologist grabbed Gail's hand and slid her fingers deep inside her. Both women moaned. Gail could feel Holly's hips thrust immediately into her palm, rubbing the heel of her hand roughly against her clit.

Gail sat back on her heels, pulling Holly on top of her so that the woman could ride her hand. The water sloshed onto the floor as Holly's needs took over her movement. Gail had to brace herself, the brunette was thrusting so hard against her. Thirty seconds and several deep thrusts later, the blonde could feel the pathologist's muscles start to flutter on her fingers. Knowing she was so close, Gail curled her digits so they hit Holly exactly where she knew she liked.

It was all Holly needed.

The waves of Holly's orgasm crashed over her body, not like a gentle wave on a sandy beach, but like a tsunami destroying everything in its wake. She clenched her entire body around her girlfriend, biting hard on her shoulder. The brunette's pleasure was almost painful for the blonde who was now supporting both of their weight, but knowing she was the cause of this made it so, _SO _worth it. Holly couldn't see it, but she certainly could feel Gail's smug grin when she had her wits about her enough to kiss the blonde.

"You think you're a sex goddess, don't you?" Holly asked when her neurons were firing properly again.

"I don't think, Holly, I know" she told her girlfriend as she helped her slide back down onto her side of the tub.

The brunette pulled the blonde into a deep kiss. "Come here, baby. Let me show you where you learned those skills".


	10. High School Reunion

Golly prompt: High School Reunion, Gail and Holly hated each other in the past, but in the reunion they realize that maybe the hate was hiding something else (love haha).

Dear Anon,

I read the 'haha' as a demonic laugh and it made my day.

I hope you like this.

Enjoy!

"Ugggh"

You look up as you hear Rachel make the sound of disgust.

"What?" you ask your best friend from high school, trying to find the source of her displeasure. You follow her glare to the other side of the room and suddenly you know what Rachel is talking about.

Her.

Gail Peck.

Your face scrunches as you involuntarily grit your teeth and narrow your gaze on the one person who made you hate high school; the one person who made you grateful to be finished and on your way to bigger and better things. She had single-handedly marred your high school days with her incessant pranking, snide comments, and generally indifferent attitude. It had been infuriating.

And nothing had changed.

There she stood with one hand on her hip, head tilted, eyes squinted, and a close-lipped smile on her face: the picture of judgement. She was standing with a group of her friends from ten years ago. Holly could tell from where she was standing that Gail wasn't even paying attention to the group.

With her heart rate increasing and blood pressure rising, Holly finally peeled her eyes away from her arch nemesis.

"I need another drink"

XXXXXXXXXX

"Hey, isn't that Holly Stewart?" Andy asks the entire group as she points to the class valedictorian.

"I think so" replies Dov. "Man, she's just as hot now as she was then. Ow!" Dov rubs his arm as you return your fist to your hip.

"She wasn't hot" you say as you scowl in the direction of the bar. Probably the first and only time Gail Peck will ever scowl in the same direction as alcohol, but that's what she does to you.

"Do you really still hold a grudge against her, Gail?" Chris asks. "It's been ten years".

"Any of your parents ever compare you to someone you can't compete with? Huh? Cause mine did. All I ever heard in high school was _Did you know Holly Stewart set the provincial record in the 1000 metre race, Gail? Did you know that Holly Stewart has been offered early admission to all the top schools, Gail? Did you know that Holly Stewart volunteers at the blood clinic, Gail_?_" _you respond in a nasal voice that is supposed to imitate your mother. "She made my life miserable without even talking to me".

"It wasn't her fault that your mother did that and you know it. You can't change the past but maybe now is a good time to bury the hatchet" Traci says to you in her no-bullshit, wise beyond her years because she is a mother way. _Damn that woman and her logic_ you think.

You are about to retort with a snide comment or snarky bit when a voice starts booming over the speakers.

"Welcome back class of 2003!" The crowd cheered in excitement. "Let's start our celebration off with a little contest! Everyone needs a partner. But hold on! The twist is that we've already partnered you up! Go find your partner and let's do this!"

You follow the gang to the sign-in table to see who you've been paired with. Holly Stewart is standing several people in front of you. _God, please don't pair me with her. I'll take the kid who used to smell his own farts, just not her._ You can tell by the way her shoulders drop and her spine stiffen that you just aren't that lucky. She turns around and looks at you with a forced smile and you now your fate is already sealed.

"Looks like we're partnered, Peck" she says in a polite, but not in a friendly way.

"Great" you mumble. "Let's get this over with".

XXXXXXXXXX

_Just my luck_ you think as you walk back to the centre of the rented banquet hall with the one person from high school you never wanted to see again.

"So" Gail starts as she looks to the floor. "What have you been up to?" she says, obviously trying to make pleasant conversation.

"I'm a physician" you reply smugly, your petty side getting the best of you.

"Of course you are" she mumbles as she shakes her head.

"Excuse me?" you spit like venom, rage boiling.

"I said _of course you are_" Gail says as she looks you dead in the eye with her crystal clear irises. _God, this woman is unbelievable _you think as you shake your head.

"What is your problem? Wasn't tormenting me in high school enough for you? I guess I shouldn't be surprised" you whisper harshly, trying not to draw attention to yourself. You watch as Gail's expression goes from annoyed to shocked to sincerely offended.

"_I _tormented _you_? You could never give it a rest, could you? You always had to be the shining star, even now, _Dr. Stewart_" she sneers your name at you like it tastes bitter in her mouth.

You are seeing red.

"Are you telling me that somehow _I _made _your _life worse than you made mine?"

She laughs quietly to herself as she closes her eyes and faces her head up to the ceiling. You aren't sure what to do with this response, so you wait for her to say something. And when she finally looks back at you with tears in her eyes, you are at a loss for words.

"You were always the best, the brightest, the fastest, the most polite, and I was the failure. I could never compete with you, no matter how hard I tried. My mother always used you as the standard and I could never match it" she tells you in a soft voice, the anger having dissipated. "And here you are, perfect as usual. And here I am, the lesbian beat cop who hasn't even made detective."

You don't know what to say. The single admission has opened your eyes to her pain and has made you see why she was so cruel all those years ago.

"I know it wasn't fair, the way I treated you. You didn't actually do anything, but my life was hell because of you" she whispers to you, looking at the ground.

And then it hits you.

_Lesbian._

XXXXXXXXXX

You can't believe you just poured your heart out to this woman. You're glad it has happened to help clear your conscience; ten years gave you some time to realize that it wasn't Holly who made your life miserable, it was Elaine Peck. But you had certainly made her life hell. Right now though, all you want to do is run away and never see this woman again.

You can feel her stepping toward you. You're not sure what's going to happen but you close your eyes to brace yourself for the very real possibility that she hits you.

But all you feel is softness; her gentle hands as they cup your chin, lifting your face to meet her own; the delicate kiss she plants on your lips; the lightness in your heart as you both relax into the sweetness that is this moment. When she pulls away from you, you blink your eyes open and all you see is warmth in hers. You smile back at her, the first time you've genuinely smiled tonight.

"Come on, Peck. Let's win this contest!" she says as she takes your hand in hers.


	11. Bank Robery

I don't know if anyone done this but, i have to ask Can you write a story, Gail meets holly at bank robbery, and saves holly from getting shot but, gail gets shot but was wearing her vest under her clothes.

Waiting in line was not your strong suit. Actually, anything involving you and patience is a struggle. But Oliver had asked you to come to the bank on his behalf, so you here you are, despite the drug bust you were working on as your first case as a detective.

You were tempted to pull out your badge and barge to the front of the line, but seeing as you were supposed to be "blending in", you figured pissing off the people in front of you and causing a ruckus was not wise. So instead you take a deep breath, exhale deeply, and don your death stare.

You must really be annoyed at the glacial pace of the line, because the woman ahead of you turns around to look at you. You know you're pissed when she catches your eye and her expression changes from one of curiosity to one of concern.

"I don't like lines" you explain.

"Does anyone?" she fires back with a smile.

You don't know how to respond to someone taking your snark so gracefully, so you just stare at her.

"This is the game I like to play" she says as she steps next to you, "the guy second from the front? What's his story?"

You don't look to the man she's pointing at. Instead you look her dead in the eye and don't say a word. You know your eyes communicate better than your brain could string together words, so you trust that you're conveying the sheer annoyance you feel.

She doesn't take the hint. Instead, she presses further. And elbows your ribs playfully.

"Don't be such a grouch. We're all in this line. Now come on, what do you think his biggest secret is?" she whispers to you so people around you won't hear. "I bet he is here to take a loan for his new rodeo arena slash RV park."

You look the man up and down. He doesn't strike you as a cowboy type, particularly given his tweed shoes and v-neck t-shirt. You scoff at the ridiculousness of the suggestion.

"No? Fine" the woman continues, "he's a Swedish prince and he's confused the bank with the post office".

You just shake your head at her.

"You aren't the boring type, are you? Your magical story for him is that he's a normal guy here to make a withdrawal from his checking account so he can pay his rent on time?" the brunette says to you.

"I am anything but boring" you reassure the stranger, "trust me".

The moment you respond, you see the twinkle in her brown eyes and the half smile on her lips. You've been baited, the brunette knowing she'd a get a response from you if she implied you were boring. She had you.

You sigh.

"Fine. He's not normal at all. In fact, he has three full human skeletons at home. He's here because he's drying his latest human skin and it's a really long process, so he figured he'd balance his chequebook while he's waiting."

You look at the woman as she nods in agreement.

"Morbid" she responds. "I agree. Now the woman with the big bag, the one who looks like Mrs. Claus- what do you think her story is? Other than her marriage and occupation."

You turn to look at the person being described, but you're distracted by the man next to her. He doesn't really stick out in that his outfit is non-descript and he's keeping his head down. The man has a nervous energy about him, a leg that has an uncontrollable tick, and his cap is pulled so far down you're surprised he managed to get in the building without walking into the door jam. You can hear the woman babbling about Mrs. Claus' kinks when you see the jittery man reach into his jacket pocket.

And pull out a gun.

He doesn't say anything, he just marches to the front of the line to the nearest teller and points the barrel at her. After a second passes, he hands her a bag. She understands what he means and starts filling it with cash.

You're reaching for your phone to silently dial 911 when you are jostled from behind. A second man, an apparent accomplice to the first, moves past you. His rough movements cause you to drop your phone, sending it smashing to the floor.

The clatter is deafening in the room.

The second man turns around, but doesn't look at you. He is staring at the brunette in front of you who is standing in the rubble of your phone.

He thinks it was hers.

He pulls out his gun and confidently aims it at her. You know instinctively that this isn't just a threatening gesture, that he plans to use violent force. So you do the only thing you can- you dive in front of her.

The noise from the chamber of the gun roars through the bank. You feel the bullet hit your abdomen.

Chaos erupts.

People start screaming, the robbers start to panic, the police burst through the front doors, and you can feel yourself being dragged across the floor.

Even before you can process the past few seconds, you can feel adept hands running over your abdomen. The brunette was checking the wound, a panicked look on her face.

"You don't seem to be bleeding" she says as she checks again. She then pulls back your blazer and understands why.

"You're a cop?" she asks.

"A detective" you gasps, the pain of speaking almost overwhelming.

"You saved my life, detective" she says, tears starting to run down her cheeks.

You roll your eyes.

"It's Gail. And I had to" you say as nonchalantly as getting shot in the Kevlar vest will allow you to be, "it was my phone". You try to shrug, but the movement causes you to wince in pain.

She smiles through the tears.

"My hero" she says as she the paramedics start to tend to you.


	12. Holly is famous, Gail doesn't know

I really love your writting so i came with this prompt for you :) Gail presents Holly to her friends in the Penny, but all they know her already because she is a very famous actress. And Gail, of course, doesn't know that "little" fact so she is embarrassed by it but Holly is delighted.

You can't believe that this night is finally here. You've been dreading this moment since you accidentally let it slip that you were dating someone. You're friends want to meet her. Worse yet, she wants to meet them. _I'm going to need alcohol_ you think as you walk in the door of the Penny with the beautiful brunette you've been spending your time with behind you.

"Hey, losers!" you shout to the full table. They've obviously been here for a few hours, given the amount of empties and the volume at which they're speaking.

Everyone turns around to look at you, all excited to meet your girlfriend. You decide you're just going to rip off the band-aid; you'll introduce Holly to everyone, let them see her face, and then you'll take her home again. Or anywhere else, for all that matters, just so long as you were both far, _FAR _away from this group. And she is far, far away from her clothes.

"This is my girlfriend-"

"Holly Stewart" Chris and Dov say at the same time.

You glare at them, unsure of how they know the woman you're dating. But that's when you look around at the rest of them.

Andy looks totally surprised, mouth agape.

Nick is just staring wide-eyed, trying to look inconspicuously between you and the brunette standing next to you.

Chloe looks like a kid who ate all the candy on Christmas morning, practically jumping out of her seat in excitement.

And the idiot twins are tripping over themselves to offer Holly their seat, earning Dov a swat from Chloe.

Your confusion deepens when everyone pulls in their chairs and start excitedly talking to Holly. You look around the group to find Traci away from the mob, leaning back in her chair, shaking her head at you. You sit down next to her, trying to process what the _hell_ is happening.

"Holly Stewart? Gail, you're dating Holly Stewart and you didn't know she's famous?" she asks you.

You just shake your head and pick up Andy's abandoned drink. _I'm going to need a lot of alcohol_ you think.

"You didn't ever ask her what she does for a living?"

You glare at your friend. "Obviously I did, Trace. She just said she's an artist. I assumed she meant she paints or sculpts or something."

"Gail, she's on one of the most famous Sci-Fi TV shows ever. How could you have missed that?" Traci still can't believe you didn't know.

"I don't watch a lot of TV" you shrug.

A few hours and many drinks later, your friends seem to have unlatched themselves from your girlfriend. Actually, it's her who unlatches herself. You watch as she peels herself from the chair she had been planted on and make her way over to you. She sits right up against you, intertwines her fingers in yours, and sighs contentedly; she needed to be closer to you.

"Why didn't you tell me you're famous?" you ask her.

"Well, for one, I'm not super famous, but I'm occasionally recognized for work that I do. Two, how was I supposed to bring it up? Not to mention, bring it up and not look like a conceited asshole. And three, why would I? You didn't recognize me from the show and that is one of the many things I love about you" Holly tells you as she smiles and nuzzles closer.

"Still, I felt stupid tonight" you say, blushing slightly at the memory.

"I'm truly sorry about that. But I really did want to meet your friends. I thought that maybe because you didn't recognize me, they wouldn't either. That obviously backfired, but your friends are great" she says.

"They're idiots" you retort, "and now that they've met you, we don't have to spend any more time with them".

"Why not? I like them!" the brunette tells you.

"Why do you like them? You have nothing in common!"

"Yes we do" she cuts you off before you can continue your rant.

"What? What do you have in common with them?" you challenge your girlfriend.

"We both love you" she says quietly, not really looking you in the eye.

"You what?"

"I love you, Gail Peck" she says only a little bit louder.

You pull her chin up so you can look into her deep chocolate eyes and wait for to meet your gaze.

"I love you too, Holly Famous Stewart" you reply. You both smile as you kiss each other.

"Get out of here, you two!" Traci says. You just roll your eyes at her and pull Holly into a deeper kiss.


	13. Memoriam

"Hey, babe. Are you reading the classifieds?" Gail asks as she saunters into her new living room, the one she now shares with her girlfriend.

"No, actually, I'm reading the obituaries" Holly replies with a calm smile.

"That's… weird" the blonde says as she plops down next to the brunette on the couch.

"I'm just looking for the memoriam my siblings and I put in the paper for my mom."

"Right" Gail says sheepishly, "are you happy with the way it turned out?"

Holly smiles wistfully. "I am. I think it really captured her spirit. I mean, as much as a small paragraph can capture a person, anyway".

Gail reaches out her hand and gently squeezes the brunette's.

"Tell me about her."

Holly smiles warmly at the memories dancing through her head.

"She was firecracker, that's for sure. She was a lot like you, actually" Holly laughs as she says this, eliciting pout from the blonde. "She would have been one hell of a senior citizen" and both women laugh at that.

"She would have been the old lady who parked on the sidewalk just because she could, and yelled at kids to get off lawn. But you know, she was always the first person to reach out a hand when someone needed it."

Gail snuggles closer to Holly as she strokes the loose strands of chestnut hair behind the pathologist's ear.

"It's not like we didn't hit hard times. Every family does. But she was a good woman. She was my rock."

"I wish I could have met her" Gail says in almost a whisper.

"Me, too. She would have loved you" Holly replies as Gail pulls her in for a hug. "Me, too."


	14. Gail's mother was abusive

Gail or Holly grows up with an abusive mother or step-mother, who always smelled of a certain perfume, and now, whenever she smell it, she feel nauseous. She is invited to meet the other's parents for the first time and her mother wears the same perfume.

You look at Holly, beautiful Holly, as she drives you both from the airport in your rental car. Since the proposal, her parents had insisted that the two of you make the trip out to Vancouver so they could finally meet their soon-to-be daughter-in-law. You were nowhere near as excited as they were to meet you. You were terrified, in fact, but this was important to Holly so it was begrudgingly important to you.

You're tired and sluggish as she pulls the car into the driveway. It isn't late but flying isn't a passion of yours and it exhausts you, so you feel like you've been awake for an entire day. You look at Holly's face one more time to remind yourself why this torture is worth it: she loves you and you love her. _Her parents are important to her and she is important to you_ you tell yourself as a pick-me-up.

Her parents are waiting for you, excitedly waving as you pull their driveway. Your fiancée's face lights up at the sight of them which puts a smile on your face. _Only for the long weekend_ you remind yourself as you start opening the car door.

"Hello, hello, hello!" Mr. Stewart calls out as he comes outside to greet you and help with the luggage.

"Gail!" he exclaims with outreached arms, getting ready to pull you into a hug. "We've heard so much about you. It's so good to finally meet you!"

"You, as well, sir" you grunt as he pulls you in for a bear hug.

"Oh, Jack! Give the girls some room to breathe!" Mrs. Stewart says to her husband as she pulls her daughter in for a hug.

"You're one to talk, mom!" Holly laughs as her mother pulls her in closer.

"Oh hush, you! And this must be your lovely Gail! We are so happy to have you here, to finally be meeting the newest member of our family!"

The smile on her face tells you she means it sincerely, that she's excited to see you, to get to know you, to love you like a daughter. It warms your heart and as she opens her arms to pull you in for a hug. As she approaches, you catch the scent of her perfume in the air.

Your face drops, your expression turns from one of cautious joy to one of fear straining to burst outward. Your mind immediately sends you back fifteen years, to your old room; the sound of her voice, the terror you feel, but mostly, the smell of her perfume. You don't know what to do and you are paralyzed with fear. The guttural noise that escapes your own throat is what brings you back to the present, only to recognize your fear mirrored back to you as concern and confusion on the Stewarts' collective faces. You take a few steps back, trying to control your emotions, but more importantly to get away from that smell- the sickly sweet notes that bring back all the pain and suffering that was being your mother's child.

Mr. and Mrs. Stewart, true to their kind nature, slowly retreat to the house without a fuss. You catch them telling Holly to take all the time that's needed, and they'd gladly pay for a hotel if that would make you more comfortable. You know you'll feel badly about your reaction, but for now you're nerves are raw and can experience no more emotion.

You managed to seat yourself on the grass, balled up with your head on your knees, arms wrapped tightly around your legs when you feel the presence of your girlfriend next to you. She doesn't say anything, just sits close enough so that you know she's there.

You take a few more addled breaths before you lean into her. Her left arm wraps around you and she places a chaste kiss on your head. Her warmth helps to keep you present, her tender touches remind you that she is your family now, that the past is behind you. You look up at her and see nothing but love in her eyes and you know that her family is the same.

She strokes your cheek and tucks a loose piece of hair behind your ear. "My parents are going to put us up in a hotel tonight. I'll call the airline and have our flights changed so we can leave tomorrow."

"No."

She looks at you curiously. She knows about your past, not in great detail, but the general brush strokes of it. You've told her in snippets and she knows you still attend regular therapy to help you. You've even attended group sessions for abuse survivors and their loved ones, but you've never mentioned the perfume- how it brings you right back to those times in your youth that you're struggling still to cope with.

"It wasn't them. They're lovely. It's just…" You don't know how to tell the woman you're going to spend the rest of your life with that the scent of her mother gives you flashbacks.

"Was it her perfume?" she asks tentatively, not sure if it will upset you further.

You don't have to respond. The surprise in your eyes that she was that perceptive was enough for her to know she was right. She just nods a few times and pulls you in closer.

When your breath has steadied and your heart rate has returned to normal you stand up. "Let's go in, so I can properly meet your parents" you say, with all the courage you can muster.

"Are you sure, Gail? Would you rather get a hotel and have my parents come meet us for dinner?" You smile at her ability to put her own wants aside to make sure your needs are met.

"It was just surprising, that's all. Now I know to expect it, it won't be so bad" you tell the woman who will be your wife as you help her to her feet.

When you get into the house her parents are in the kitchen, putting together some sandwiches and finger foods for everyone. You make a point of walking up to them with the idea of apologizing for your initial meeting. You open your mouth to say as much when you are cut off by Mrs. Stewart. "You girls must be hungry after the flight, especially now that they've stopped serving meals on domestic flights. We've put together something light for you to enjoy" she said with a smile.

It's then that you really take her in. She's changed her clothes and you notice that her dark hair is shining- the water from the shower she must have just taken reflecting in the kitchen light. You smile at the women and pull her in for a hug. You inhale deeply and smell only the scent of bar soap and the unmistakable odour of men's deodorant. And you know now, this is family. These people are your home.


	15. Gail meets Holly Nick is in Afghanistan

Here's a prompt: Gail and Holly made friends while Nick was undercover, when he comes back, Holly is so jealous that she accepts going in a blind date. In the Penny, Holly meet her blind date and also she sees that Gail is there too, with Nick. Ends with Gail in Holly's front door asking who was that girl and ... maybe making out? ;)

You aren't sure why you're here; you don't like this woman. It's not her, and not even in that clichéd "it's you, it's me" kind of way. The woman is great, actually. If it hadn't been for Gail, you would have been thrilled to be set up with Taylor. She's cute, smart, clever, well-read, and ambitious. But she wasn't Gail and you just weren't into her.

You were out with her anyway, against your better judgement, at the insistence of Lisa. She knew how you felt about the blonde officer despite your ardent denial. Where she found Taylor, you're not entirely sure, but she was stunning in her tight jeans, sheer blouse with just a hint of cleavage, and sleek leather boots. She was the perfect mix of casual and sexy, but if her hair was on fire you probably wouldn't really notice, you are so distracted.

Gail had just walked in.

Gail, with her hero boyfriend Nick. _Nicholas_ you muttered internally, who had just returned from his tour in Afghanistan. _Idiot._

You admonish yourself for thinking it, but you couldn't help not feeling bad. He was with Gail, the woman you had fallen for while he was abroad. You knew you were the bad guy in this situation, loving when the blonde snuggled into while you watched movie marathons while this guy, her boyfriend, was risking life and limb.

There was also a part of you that was certain Gail had felt the spark between the two of you. The looks she gave you, the way she always smiled when you entered a room, and how she was now actively avoiding your gaze since she walked through the door with Nick. The look of surprise on her face told you she wasn't expecting you to be at the Penny tonight.

"Do you want a shot?" you ask your date as you start getting out of the booth.

"I think I'm fine with my merlot, thanks" she tells you, even though you weren't really waiting for her reply.

Several shots and only a short while later Taylor makes the excuse that she had promised her neighbour she'd help her with some important chore. You knew it was a lie, you knew she just didn't want to spend any more time with you, but you don't care.

You go to the bar, order one more shot, and ask for your tab, deciding you need to take yourself home before you do something you'll truly regret. On your way out the door, you can't stop yourself form going over to the table where a subdued Gail is sitting next to Nick, surrounded by a crowd of well-wishers. "Welcome home, officer" you say to him with a good natured arm squeeze. You ignore Gail and march out the door, refusing to look back at her.

You get home and throw yourself into bed, ignoring the several texts from Lisa who'd obviously spoken to Taylor. "WTF?!" being your favourite message from your friend so far.

The feelings of anger and frustration amplified by the number of shots you'd consumed at the bar. You want to scream, not believing you'd fallen for your straight best friend. _How tacky_ you think as your addled brain floods with images of the blonde.

The montage of Gail is interrupted by a knock at the door. A pounding at the door is more accurate. Normally, you would have ignored it, but all your anger is about to be misdirected toward who you can only assume is Lisa, the only person who'd show up so obnoxiously at this late hour to yell at you in your own home. _I hope she's ready for a fight_ you think as you storm down the stairs to the front door of your townhouse.

You open your mouth, ready to cut off the tirade you're expecting, when you're met with cobalt eyes. Unsure of what to say, you just stand and stare.

Gail.

"I'm glad Nick made it home safe" you mumble, not knowing what else to say.

"Who was that girl you were with?" she cuts you off before you can continue.

"What?" you stutter, shocked she's here at all, let alone asking about the woman you were with earlier.

"Who was she? That blonde?" Gail's jealous. You smile.

"Her name is Taylor" you say with all the bravado you can manage. "She's a-"

You're cut off by Gail's lips pressing against your own. You pull her in and wrap your arms around her waist. You melt into her, tasting the on her tongue the tequila she'd been drinking. She runs her hands through your hair, scraping her nails along the back of your neck, sending shivers down your spine.

"Mmmmm" she moans as you pull apart.

"I hope you didn't like her" she says to you before she pulls in again.

"Why?" you ask between kisses, almost forgetting what you were talking about.

"I want to ask you out. I broke up with Nick"

"I'm free tomorrow" you grin ear to ear as you pull her closer.


	16. Mom, what does 'sex' mean?

"Mom, what does 'sex' mean?"

Gail stops chopping. She doesn't move a muscle as she contemplates her next move, feeling the eyes of her six year old son on her back. Her beautiful, sweet, innocent boy.

"Ummmm…" the blonde starts as she slowly sets down her knife on the cutting board. _God, I wish Holly was home_ she thought as she plastered a smile of her face. Based on her son's reaction and the tension in her face, she was sure it was more of a grimace. She doesn't want her boy to think sex was something to be ashamed of, but she was not at all interested in having this conversation, especially without her wife. The precocious child definitely took after his other mother where his curiosity was concerned.

"Well" the blonde started slowly, "sex is something that two people share." She was gesturing unnecessarily with her hands because she didn't what else to do with them and they were taking on a mind of their own.

"It's when two people, who feel a connection to one another decide to take their relationship further." The confused look on her son's face makes it obvious that she's being too vague.

"It's how they show their feelings to each other, but they use their bodies. They kiss and hug, and sometimes they do it without any clothes on." She smiles awkwardly, hoping she's said enough to satisfy his question. The expectant chocolate brown eyes tell her otherwise, so she takes a deep breath and pushes through.

"Well bud, sex is when two people, well sometimes more than two people" she stops and looks at her child. "I guess we don't need that much detail" she mumbles.

"Sex is when two people take off their clothes, kiss and hug, and touch each other so that it feels nice" the blonde forces the words out even though she's starting to get red in the face, betraying her attempt at confidence. "But only when both people say it's okay to do that" she adds emphatically. She stops talking again, hoping that she answered the question satisfactorily.

She's watching the wheels turn in her son's head. She smiles even brighter and wrings her hands together, wishing desperately for Holly to return home and join the conversation.

"So" he starts and Gail braces herself for the worst. "Should I pick the 'f' or the 'm'?" he asks.

*blink*

She wasn't expecting that.

"What do you mean, bud?"

"The 'f' or the 'm'? Which one do I pick, mom?" he says again as he pulls a paper from behind his back and hands it to her. She takes it from him. _Toronto Children's Soccer League _reads across the top of the page. Her son points to one of the registration questions:

_Sex_

□_F □M_

She lets a sigh of deep relief.

"You pick the 'M' buddy. It means you're a boy"

"Thanks mom" he says with a smile as he returns to the dining room table. Gail turns back to the stove, grateful the conversation was over.

"Where do I put the rest of the stuff you told me about sex?" he calls from the next room.

_Shit_ she winces.

"Just wait until mommy gets home then ask her" she responds with a devilish grin. She couldn't wait to hear that conversation.


	17. Mommy, what does sex mean? V1

**This is the continuation of "Mom, what does 'sex' mean?" I wrote two versions and couldn't decide which I preferred, so I'm posting both! I hope you enjoy!**

"Mommy, what does sex mean?"

Holly stops in the front hall and looks at her son. He has a curious expression on his face. Wondering where this question was coming from, she looks to her wife. Gail is smiling brightly at her, the mischievous twinkle in her eye of someone who is stirring the pot.

"Did you ask your mom?" she says calmly as she hangs up her coat.

"Yeah, she said it was when two people hug and kiss when they're naked. Then she said to ask you about it."

She looks back to her wife who is smiling even brighter. _Of course she told you to ask mommy_ you think as you smile back at her. _Two can play this game_.

"She's right. That's what sex is" Holly tells her son as she sits next to him.

"Okay" he replies simply, already finished with the conversation at hand. "Want to draw with me?"

"You bet, bud. Go get your felt pens and we'll colour too" she smiles to him as he hops off his chair and heads to his room in search of art supplies. As he bounds down the hall, Holly makes her way to the kitchen.

"You know, I think you missed something about sex" the brunette tells her wife as she slides her arms around her waist.

"What's that?" she says, voice deflated since her plan to corner Holly with the 'sex talk' didn't go the way she wanted, but was still smiling.

"Sex is probably something mom won't be having for a long, _long_ time" she responds, placing a quick kiss on the blonde's cheek with a slap on her ass. The blonde's smile fades and then turns into a pout.


	18. Mommy, what does sex mean? V2

**"Mommy, what does 'sex' mean?" Version 2**

"Mommy, what does sex mean?"

Holly stops in the front hall and looks at her son. He has a curious expression on his face. She calmly nods at him. She had hoped this question was years away, but being confronted by it now, she was ready to answer. She had attended medical school after all, how hard could it be to explain sex to a six year old?

She walked down the hall to sit with her son in the dining room while her wife was in the room over, making dinner.

"Well buddy, sex is technically called 'coitus' or 'copulation' and typically involves-" Holly's speech was interrupted by the sound of wooden spoon hitting the counter top. The questioning look on Gail's face lets her know she is starting off on the wrong foot.

"Right. So sex happens in most higher-order species, and is mostly for the purpose of reproduction, although there are quite a few species that have documented cases of sex for pleasure, including dolphins. Remember when we went to the zoo and you liked the dolphins?" Holly asks her son with enthusiasm.

Gail clears her throat. Loudly. So Holly looks up at her to see the blonde shaking her head, lips pursed. _Damn it, I thought that was better._

"Well strictly speaking, sex is when penetration occurs, either orally or by an erect penis, digits, or any other object. Most people consider sex the penetration of the vagina by the penis, ending in male ejaculation, but that's a societal construct" she nods thoughtfully. She looks to her son, his sweet face contorted in confusion.

"What does ejaculation mean, mommy?"

Holly is about to answer when she is interrupted by her wife.

"Okay. We've clearly inundated him with too much information, and WAY too much detail" the blonde says as she gives Holly the stink eye and sets down the salad on the table.

"Look buddy, the important thing to know about sex right now, is that it happens with your body. You have to take your time and make sure you know that you're ready, but that won't be for a long time. In the meantime, why don't you think about what we've talked about, and tomorrow if you have any more questions you can ask them then. Okay?"

Their son nods his head in understanding.

"Okay" she smiles. "Go wash your hands for dinner" Gail says to the boy. He scampers off to do as he was told.

"Seriously, Hol? Coitus? Penetration? Ejaculation? He's six!" she says.

"Yeah, that conversation really got away from me" the brunette nods in agreement. "The next time he asks an anatomy related question, I'll make sure you're part of it. However, I'm not entirely to blame. I saw the look in your eyes. I know he asked you before I got home, so don't play the innocent card here. You set me up." Holly pulls Gail in for a kiss.

"It's possible that happened" Gail says with a sheepish grin.

"I thought so" Holly says as she presses her lips to her wife's. "Next time, we'll balance out the conversation nicely. You'll be super uncomfortable, and I'll be super technical."

"God, we're going to screw him up!" Gail laughs.

"Maybe. But at least we love him"


	19. The Family Woman-Part 1

**Golly prompt: Holly + Gail + Family Man (the movie). I don't know if you watched this movie (if you aren't, do it, it's great) 10 years later in San Francisco, Holly's guardian angel shows her what would have happened if she had stayed in Toronto with Gail...**

The Family Woman – Part 1

It's late. She's been at the office all day working on her latest research article. It was going to be published by Science, one of the most prestigious and popular science journals but she'd found a small problem with the data. She had needed to get it sorted out before the deadline which was why she was walking to a corner store on her way home. It was the only thing open this late on Christmas Eve, even in a city the size of San Francisco.

She tossed the overpriced, over-processed sandwich on the counter along with a questionable looking apple, and a small chocolate bar. She deserved a treat. The clerk started to ring in her order.

"No big Christmas dinner?" the woman asked the now Director of the Pathology and Laboratory Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Ummmm, no. This is it" she replied sheepishly.

"Where's your family?" the clerk continued, oblivious to Holly's disinterest in the conversation.

"Well, I was supposed to go to my parents' for the holidays but something came up at work, so I'm here instead" she sighed, hoping that was enough to sate this woman's curiosity.

"Family is important, Holly. You work too hard" the clerk – Mona, Holly reads on the nametag- told her with a knowing concern.

"I… uhhhh…" Holly blinked a few times, unsure of how to respond to a complete stranger knowing her name.

"If you aren't careful, life will pass you by. And the worst part is that you won't even know it until it's too late" Mona said as she bagged up the brunette's sad dinner. Mona smiled at her as she handed her the bag and her change.

"Merry Christmas, Dr. Stewart"

"Uh, Merry Christmas to you" Holly replied cautiously as she walked out of the store.

Once she got home she ate her paltry dinner, the only thing she'd had since her oatmeal that morning and promptly fell asleep on the couch, with reruns of Cheers on the TV.

She woke up in the plush comfort of a warm bed. She stretched out, feeling the softness of the sheets against her skin. She rolled over to check the time, thinking she must have moved to her bed in the night, and is shocked to find a cat staring right back at her in place of her alarm clock.

She squinted her eyes to look around the room. Even without her glasses she could tell it's not the bare space of a bedroom she never really decorated. She could see a huge armoire against the wall, a chest of drawers along another, and what she thought must be pictures on the wall across from her- lots of pictures.

She found her glasses under the rump of the cat. _Maybe I wandered to the neighbour's somehow _she thought. Blinking a few times to get rid of the sleep induced fog in her brain, she focussed on the wall with the photographs. The wall was full of framed and unframed pictures. She got off the bed to look more closely at them, hoping to figure out where she was.

As she approached, she could see they are pictures of a family. She isn't surprised. In the centre is a nice formal shot of the three kids. One, the eldest, was a black girl with deep brown eyes who looked to be in her late teens. A boy, to her right, had olive toned skin, glasses, and looked to be about seven. The third, another girl, had pale skin and platinum blonde hair. The little girl's most striking feature however, were her eyes: piercing blue. This girl stirred memories from Holly's past, but her brain was too tired to figure out who this child reminded her of.

Holly continued to looking at the pictures. Most of them were of the three kids in various stages in their lives so far: a kindergarten graduation, a birthday party, and what appeared to be Halloween, although all three children were wearing the same police uniform.

_Huh,_ Holly thought.

Moving along the frames, she got to one with a woman who is very pregnant. It's a side portrait but the sun shining across the woman's face makes it difficult to make out her features. A deep feeling of love and warmth washed over the brunette, looking at this woman.

She continued her scan of the candid portraits when she got to what appeared to be the blonde woman from the previous photo. She was smiling brightly and looked stunning in her wedding dress. She had the cobalt eyes as the young girl in the first pictures she saw.

Holly really studied the blonde's face now, wondering why she feels so connected to her. Her eyes widened in surprise. The woman is Gail, the police officer she'd dated years ago, whom she'd left when she moved to San Francisco.

_How the hell did I get into Gail's house?_ she started panicking. _Is she in San Francisco now? Am I hallucinating? What's the longest nerve in the human body? _she tested herself. _The sciatic. Name three estimators of time of death? Temperature, rigor, and forensic entomology. I seem to be in charge of my faculties_ she thought, comforted by the fact that she can recall what she considers basic knowledge.

Still disoriented by the events of the morning, she decided to forgo any conversations with Gail and decided climbing out the window will be the best course of action. Holly was not interested in being arrested for trespassing, breaking and entering, or better yet, stalking!

Before she managed her great escape, the bedroom door flew open and in walked the teenager from the photographs. She stopped and stared at Holly.

"Holly?" she said, confused.

"Sophie" the brunette suddenly remembered.


	20. The Family Woman-Part 2

The Family Woman-Part 2

"Holly?" Sophie said, "are you trying to climb out the window?"

"Ummm…" Holly didn't know what to say. She wanted to be honest, to tell her that yes, she was in fact climbing out the window. She was also pretty certain she was having a panic attack mixed with some sort of hallucination. _I must really be working too hard, _Holly thought at the ridiculousness of it all.

"Can you come downstairs like a normal human? The children are getting restless and want to open their presents. And by children, I mean Gail" Sophie interrupted her thoughts.

"What? You want me to come downstairs?" Holly sputtered.

"Ugh" Sophie sighed in the exasperated way only a teenager can master. "Come on, let's go!" She crossed the room and pulled Holly back through the window. She slamed it shut before grabbing the brunette's hand to drag her to the main floor.

It took a second, but Holly felt the unmistakable sensation of metal surrounding her ring finger. _Wedding bands_ she thought as she turned her hand over in Sophie's to confirm it. _Yep, I'm in someone else's house, wearing their weddings rings. This is bad._

"Finally!" Gail shouted when Holly stumbled into the family room.

The two youngest kids ran up to her shouting "Mommy! Mommy! Look what Santa brought!"

Holly's chest tightened. She was completely confused, and quite frankly terrified. Two children, who were certain she was their mother, were clamoring for her attention. She wanted to laugh for fear of crying. It was all too much.

She tried to take deep breaths, desperately hoping she'd wake up from this nightmare. She couldn't take all the noise so she bolted out of the room and headed for what she hoped was the kitchen. She was pacing around the island when Gail walked in.

"What is wrong with you today, Nerd? You were up half the night putting the jungle gym bunk beds together for Felix and Jane, then you don't even get out of bed to watch their faces when they see it for the first time?" Gail moved easily around the kitchen and poured two cups of coffee. She handed one to Holly, but the brunette refused to accept.

"I don't understand what's happening right now. Why am I here? Why am I not at home? I have a deadline for my research paper, not to mention next year's budget" Holly had started pacing again, the stress of the situation taking over.

"What are you talking about?" Gail interrupted. "Did you have a stroke, Lunchbox?" the blonde said as she placed a quick kiss on Holly's cheek before heading back into the other room where the two youngest were climbing on their new beds and Sophie was smiling at her new iPod.

_Too much_ thought Holly, _this is all too much._ She was moving toward the front door when it opened.

"Merry Christmas, Holly!" Bill Peck said as he came through the door with his hands full of gifts.

"Bill?" Holly asked.

"Yes?" he replied as he started setting the gifts on the floor to take off his jacket. The door opened again and in walked, who Holly already knew to be, Elaine Peck.

"Merry Christmas, Holly" she said crisply.

Holly shook her head. She grabbed a coat and started stuffing her feet in the first pair of boots she could find. She grabbed a set of car keys and ran out the door to the sound of Bill saying "where the hell is she going in such a hurry?"

The fob on the keychain unlocked a minivan that is sitting in the driveway. She looked at the licence plate just to confirm that she has somehow found herself back in Toronto. It reads Ontario. She is still somehow surprised.

After fumbling her way out of the suburban neighbourhood she's found herself in, she hit the 401, heading directly to Pearson International. She managed to get there in record time, parked it in the first spot she could find, and raced into the terminal, intent on getting on the first flight back to California, and her life.

The first airline she found that she knew flew to the western US has nobody in line and one smiling agent waiting to greet her. She's was grateful she almost didn't recognize the woman manning the desk: Mona.

"Hello, Dr. Stewart. How is your Christmas going?" she said jovially.

"Are you kidding me right now? _Hello, Dr. Stewart. How is your Christmas going?_" the usually even tempered Holly imitated the woman in a nasally voice. "What the hell is happening to me? How did I end up in Toronto? Why do two children in Canada think I'm their mother!?" she was nearly screaming now.

Mona nodded and passed Holly a brown paper bag. "This might help" she said, "take some deep breaths. People often find it very overwhelming. But if you need to puke, please tell me so I can hand you the trash can. I don't want to have to clean up like last time."

"Can you please tell me what's happening, without the cryptic bullshit!?" Holly said between puffs of her improvised inhaler.

"This is glimpse, Holly" Mona stated plainly.

"A glimpse of what?"

"What your life could have been"

Holly stared at the woman in front of her, incredulous that this could even be happening. "What my life could have been like if I were on a constant acid trip? Because that's how I feel right now! I like my life just the way it is! I've worked damn hard for it, sacrificed for it, and I want it back! So what do I need to do? How much money, huh?"

"It doesn't work like" Mona told her as she pushed away the credit card Holly pulled from the coat pocket. "You have to figure this thing out for yourself."

"Figure what out!?" Holly demanded.

"You'll just have to let it come to you"

Holly sighed as Mona looked past her and asked the next customer to step forward. She was exhausted and had nowhere else to go except back "home", so she grudgingly got back in the minivan and drove to the house she woke up in only a short while ago.

"Where the hell have you been?!" Gail shouted at her in a whispered tone, so Holly knew she was pissed but so she wouldn't upset the kids. "First you miss the kids opening their gifts, then you run out the door when my parents get here, leaving me alone with them, and then you don't come back for hours! I had Steve running your name through the system! We thought you were hurt!" she finished as she slapped the brunette's arm.

"I… I… I'm sorry. This has been really overwhelming for me"

Gail sighed deeply. "We can talk about this later. Can you please go help Jane get dressed? And then can you get dressed so we can have dinner? The kids are starving and my parents are still here and I want them to leave. That will only happen if I feed them because my mother will never pass up the opportunity to dig at me about my cooking, or the kids manners, or how I _still _haven't lost _all_ the baby weight."

Holly nodded and headed up the stairs, deciding that all she can do today is coast along. She could hear the sweet voice of a child singing "Frosty the Snowman" so she followed it to its owner. The little girl was singing her song in her pajamas while she played with her new toys. She stopped singing and looked up when Holly reached to door.

The brunette smiled at the little girl who just looked at her.

"So" she attempted to be as motherly as she could, "why don't we get you dressed? Grandma and Grandpa are here and we'll have dinner soon but not until we're in our nice clothes" she tried in a sing song voice.

"You're not my real mom, are you?" the blonde haired child asked.

"No, I'm not" Holly replied, so happy that someone finally understood she could cry, even if it was just a five year old girl. "I'm a scientist and I run an entire department at a university in the United States, kind of close to Disney Land" she told her with relief.

"Where's my real mom?" she asked, concern washing over her face.

"I don't know. But don't worry, she loves you very much and I'm sure she'll be back very soon" she said as she knelt in front of the girl to comfort her. The girl, Jane, stared at Holly. Then, to the pathologist's surprise, she reached out and started touching Holly's face.

"They did a pretty good job" she said, looking the brunette over.

"Who did?"

"The aliens, in the mother ship. You look just like her. Promise you won't kidnap me and my brother and sister and plant stuff in our brains?" she asked.

"Absolutely" Holly replied, thinking this kid has to be Gail's by how morbid her thoughts are at such a young age.

"Okay" Jane smiled, "welcome to Earth. I'll help you as much as I can".


	21. The Family Woman-Part 3

The Family Woman-Part 3

The next few weeks after Christmas were not exactly smooth for Holly and her 'new' family, but she adapted a lot better than she figured she would have. She'd always wanted kids, but having them sprung on her like that was not really what she'd had in mind. _Thank God for Jane, _Holly thought every time the five year old corrected her when she was about to make a blunder.

Like in the morning. It was Holly's duty to get the kids up, make sure that Sophie left for high school in time, and to drive the two younger ones to elementary school. On the first day back from Christmas holidays, she looked to Jane and said "what do I do now?"

"You go to work" she replied.

"Oh. Where is that?"

"At the clinic in the mall. The one by the food court"

"I work at a clinic? What do I do there?" she asked.

"You make sick people better, the ones that don't have doctors. That's what you tell us" she replied as she shrugged and climbed out of the van.

"Awesome" she groaned as she headed out to the mall near their home, the one she passed on her way to the airport.

She was grateful when she arrived that the receptionist greeted her by name and let her know that she does in fact have patients, that she isn't a crazy person trying to impersonate a physician, waltzing into a walk-in clinic. There was certainly a moment in the parking lot when she thought that she might not actually work here hit her.

She walked into the clinic not really sure what to do or where to go. She was met by a large sign over the reception that announced "The Peck Walk-In Clinic". _Of course I work for my in-laws_ she thought, annoyed.

She was standing there taking in the generic waiting room when a young woman approached her. "Oh good, you're here Dr. Stewart! Mr. Paige is back. He's in room 1. He says his weird rash is back" she mumbled with a disgusted look on her face. "And that lady with the twins that were projectile vomiting? They're back. Room 2. And your wife called. She wants to know if you can bring Sophie to her driving lessons later" the woman told Holly as she handed her a stack of files.

Holly stopped walking alongside what she assumed must be the receptionist. She was used to stress, to dealing with a million problems needing a million solutions, but never had she had to deal with family obligations on such a basic level before. Her wife. Her wife needed her to pick up their child. Her wife. Their child.

"Ummm… could you ask her where and when to pick up Sophie? What the hell kind of rash are we talking here? And should I see these twins first, so they don't wreck the place?" she asked with an unsure expression on her face. The receptionist looked at her questioningly.

"Mr. Paige? He's in here at least once a week. And you pick up Sophie most days for her driving lessons. And the twins aren't puking this time. You asked their mother to bring them back for a follow up. Don't you remember?"

"Right" Holly said in agreement, not wanting to upset the receptionist further. "Sorry, I'm just really tired." Holly took the rest of the files from her and headed down the hall to where she assumed there will be an office with her name on the door. Thankfully, there wass. Sort of.

"Dr. Peck-Stewart. Of course she convinced to put her name first."

Mr. Paige did in fact have a weird rash, and worse still, was that it was in a weird place. If she had even for a moment doubted her sexuality, Mr. Paige solidified her lesbianism for her. The twins were very cute and sweet, but despite being a 'mother' herself, Holly felt ill-at-ease with these patients. She was shocked when one of the toddlers grabbed her glasses. The twins' mother gave her a reproachful look. Holly smiled sheepishly.

"It's been a while since my kids were this age" she told the other woman, which seemed to placate her.

It had been a long morning, followed by an excruciating afternoon of being coughed on, spit at, and yelled at for not prescribing enough medication, and once for prescribing too much. She was sitting in her office with the lights off massaging the headache from her temples when the phone rang.

"Holly?" the young voice asked.

"Yes?" she said, not sure who it was.

"Are you coming to get me? I'm going to be late for my lessons!" the exasperated voice said. Sophie.

_Shit._

"I'm sorry Sophie, I got caught up with a patient. What's the address?"

"The address? I don't know! I'm at school!" she said and hung up.

Having remembered at least to collect Jane and Felix from school, she walked into the house to a skulking Sophie. She apologized for her mistake, promising to make it up to her by renting a fancy car for the two of them to drive around this weekend. Sophie was ecstatic. Holly was proud that she had resolved that situation. At least she thought she had.

"How are we going to afford a nice car for the weekend, Lunchbox?" her wife asked once the teenager had left the room.

"What do you mean?"

"Money. Cash. Moolah. We don't have any and I'm not asking my parents again."

Money hadn't been a concern for Holly since medical school some time ago. She was not rich, but she was certainly well off, and most importantly, didn't have dependents to worry about.

"I'm a doctor and you're a police officer. We can't be that badly off" she replied, asking more than stating. Gail started to laugh.

"You mean you work in the walk-in clinic where your bleeding heart donates almost as much time as you take paid and I'm a desk cop, not to mention we're still paying for our fertility treatments for Felix and Jane. Yeah, we're loaded."

"You ride the desk?" the brunette asked, shocked the blonde had even considered it, let alone agreed to it.

"Duh" she said. _This is where Sophie gets it_ Holly thought. "Ever since that guy shot at me while I was pregnant. We both agreed our family meant more than our jobs. So you quit the morgue after the mob incident that almost got you killed, and I moved to the desk when I was almost killed. As if you don't remember this!

"Anyway, your gift is upstairs, but I'm ready for my surprise any time" Gail said with a wide smile. Holly just stared at her, not knowing what else to do.

"I, uh, I'm not ready to give you the surprise yet" she replied, hoping to buy herself some time.

Gail's face fell. "You forgot, didn't you?"

"No, no, it's just, not quite ready yet" she tried to steady her voice this time, say it with more conviction. Gail nodded, a dejected look on her face.

"I never thought you'd do this" she said, the hurt unmistakable in her voice. Gail turned and left the room. Holly wanted to scream in frustration. She kept making bumbling errors, mistakes she knew she'd never make under normal circumstances, letting everyone around her down. It was excruciating. Now she'd hurt Gail and she didn't even know why.

She turned to head to the kitchen, hoping some wine, or better yet, hard liquor would help. She nearly bowled over Jane along the way, who was shaking her head at Holly.

"What?" Holly asked.

"You forgot your anniversary" she said simply. "Mommy usually makes a big surprise for mom. She says it's a very special day, the day that you both started our family."

_Fuck._

"I have to make this up to her, big time" Holly said to the girl.

"Big, BIG time" Jane responded.

"Right. Do you think you and your brother sister could help me?"

Jane smiled brightly.

Two hours later, Felix, dressed in the only suit that fit him, knocked on his parents' bedroom door. "Mom? Can you come out here?" Gail, a softie for her children, could never say no when they spoke so sweetly.

"What's up, buddy?" she asked as she opened the door in her pajamas. She took him in, hair slicked back, wearing in a navy blue suit. He just held his arm out for her to take. Gail smiled and took it.

He brought her downstairs, where the lights in the dining room where turned off, and candles had been placed all around. The finest plates and flatware they owned were set for two on the table, with what she recognized as one of their silk sheets as a table cloth. Jane stood next to the table in her favourite dress, with her hair awkward pinned to one side (she insisted she was a big girl now who could do her own hair), with a rose in her hand.

"This is for you mom, from us" she said as her brother brought Gail to her seat.

Gail smiled at her youngest daughter and kindly accepted the flower. Holly entered the room, wearing her pea coat, the jacket she saved for special occasions. Her cheeks were rosy from the cold night air and had a bag in her hand. Just as the blonde was about to protest her lack of formal dress, the brunette threw off her coat to reveal her own set of pajamas.

"I didn't want you to feel underdressed" she said.

Sophie walked in wearing in her winter formal dress, carrying a silver tray with their dinner on it. Fettuccini alfredo, the only thing Gail could make when they married, and apparently, the first meal the blonde made for her wife on the first night in their new house. Sophie dished out plates for both women, smiled and then pulled out the ketchup and set it in front of Gail.

Once the kids left, Holly smiled at Gail, in awe of how even though a decade had passed, she was as beautiful now as she had been when they were dating.

"I can't believe you're still as beautiful now as you were when we started dating" she blurt out before she had the chance to censor the thought. The candid statement made Holly blush, having not meant to say it out loud.

"How do you do that?" Gail asked. "How do you look at me like you're seeing me for the first time?"

Holly stared at her wife, not sure what else to say, knowing she'd never be able to explain herself. She decided to change the subject instead.

"I found this in my office today, in one of my drawers. I know I've been acting… weird lately. I just wanted to give this to you so you'd know I am still in this" she said as she passed the bag to Gail. "I didn't have time to wrap it."

Gail opened up the bag, not sure what Holly could have found in her desk that would be so special on their anniversary. She pulled it out and saw right away that it was a framed photo. It was a beautiful black and white picture of the blonde. You couldn't really see her face, the photo was taken from above, but you could see her arms wrapped tenderly around her swollen belly. She was eight months pregnant with Jane.

Holly looks across the table at Gail. "This is the photo that goes with the one in our bedroom. I'm not sure why it was in my desk, but I love it and I want you to have it."

Tears were rolling down Gail's cheek. "Thank you" she whispered.


	22. The Family Woman-Part 4

The Family Woman-Part 4

Days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and Holly had fallen into the routine that was her new life. She hadn't missed anymore pick-ups or drop offs at school, had made a point of looking up everyone's birth certificates so she didn't miss any birthdays, and Holly had even attended parent teacher conferences and volunteered at Felix and Jane's school.

There was only one area in her new life that she was having a hard time adapting to: her love life. Or more specifically, the intimate parts of her love life. Just as it had been when they were dating, Gail was ravenous when it came to sex. The difference was, now that they had kids, they had to be opportunistic about where and when they had sex. This often led to the blonde surprising Holly by literally jumping her bones.

In theory, Holly was thrilled; she had a beautiful wife that after ten years still found her attractive. She had a healthy relationship with an active sex life. The downside, and it was a real bummer, was that the brunette felt like she was taking advantage, like she was being dishonest.

She knew Gail couldn't understand so she tried instead to dissuade her, saying she was exhausted. With trying to adjust to her new life and responsibilities it was true, but that had only worked a few times before Gail told her that it was fine, that she'd just "help" Holly fall asleep. Then she winked at her. Holly shifted her excuse to a headache, so Gail found some studies that showed that sex, particularly an orgasm, is a great way to relieve tension caused by headaches. After that excuse failed, she told Gail that she was on her period. It wasn't a total lie, she was expecting it any day now. What she wasn't expecting was Gail's answer.

"No you don't" the blonde stated matter-of-factly. "Unless it came early and in that case, who cares? It's not like we haven't done it before" Gail continued as she started kissing Holly's neck.

Holly recoiled, not sure what else to do. She wanted the blonde, and she knew technically it wasn't wrong, but there was a small part of her, growing smaller by the minute, that knew she was not the 'Holly' that Gail had married.

"Holly, why don't you want me anymore?" the hurt in Gail's voice stung like a bee.

"I do want you, Gail, more than you know"

"What is it then?"

"I… I don't think I can explain it"

"You don't love me anymore?"

The look on Gail's face was the same one Holly remembered from ten years ago; the sincerity, the honesty, but mostly, the vulnerability. She realized that she had loved her then, and still did now.

"I love you more and more ever day" the brunette told her wife as she pulled her into a deep kiss.

Spending time with her new family had transitioned from a shock to the system and physically and mentally taxing to enjoyable. She was surprised that these kids really felt like her own.

Particularly Felix, the precocious boy with head always deep in a book, or out in the yard with the magnifying glass and microspore that his mothers had gotten him for his eighth birthday. Holly would spend lazy Sunday afternoons with him in the backyard catching and identifying different species of insects, while the rest of the family was piled on the couch watching movies and eating cheese puffs (her love of cheese puffs another trait Gail passed on to their children).

The girls were especially disgusted when Holly and Felix, the child who could be her spitting image, would go out to collect bugs in the rain. They tried to explain to the others that the ecology was vastly different during precipitation but their collective looks of disgust made it obvious they weren't interested either way. It suited Holly and Felix just fine, it was their together time and both cherished it.

Things at work were turning around for Holly too. She was hitting her stride, having felt rusty returning to living patients and treating their maladies rather than simply identifying them in the dead. Not to say that it's been easy for her, but Holly was certainly thankful that she'd only had to deal with coughs and pains and rashes, that she hadn't woken up as a surgeon.

She had managed to make a lot of positive changes for the clinic. She found a few additional grants and donors, which meant she was able to buy some additional equipment and it had been needed direly. She really was enjoying running the clinic, the challenges of operating a walk-in clinic were proving to be a lot more like running her department at the university than she had anticipated.

The similarities between being in charge of the clinic and being in charge of a large department at one of California's state schools always made her wonder what had happened to her position. She had called the university a few times to see if she could get her voicemail. She was looking for anything other than a five year old girl thinking she was an alien to confirm she'd been transplanted into this life. She had had no such luck. She kept getting the voicemail of her second in command, saying he was the director of the department. _God, that guy is such a moron_ she thought as she listened to his voice claim her title as his own.

But as the months progressed, she thought less and less about her old life until she stopped thinking about California all together. She had become so involved and enamoured by her new life she didn't even miss her old one anymore and had almost forgotten it entirely. She accepted this was her life now. Her first patient that day brought it all back.

The man was impeccably dressed in a fashionable suit, but looked like he had seen better days.

"How are you today, sir?" she asked out of habit. The man was obviously not well.

"Oh, you know, I'm in the middle of a huge case and my medical examiner is an idiot who is ruining everything, and now I think I have a hernia. You wouldn't happen to know how to tell if a person drowned in fresh or saltwater, would you?" he said with the grimace of someone trying to make a joke but was in obvious pain.

"Well, research shows that saltwater is twice as lethal as freshwater. You victim would have drowned in half the time" she replied as she started her examination.

The man took in a sharp breath, in surprise of her knowledge or in pain, Holly wasn't sure. "Oh my God! It makes so much sense now" he mumbled to himself.

Holly knew she'd lost his attention so she continued pressing along his abdomen. She was nearly complete when he groaned in pain.

"I don't think it's a hernia, but I'm sending you for an ultrasound to be sure" she told him as she started pulling out a referral form.

"What if he was drowned in saltwater but then placed in freshwater? Would you be able to tell?" he asked as he did up the buttons on his shirt.

"Well, if he drowned in saltwater you would expect to see severe pulmonary oedema and hypernatraemia which causes haemoconcentration. You'd also expect to see increased salt volume in the blood. A freshwater drowning victim, you'd expect to see haemolysis and severe dilution of the blood with a marked increase of blood volume. Most notably, you'd see the alteration or denaturation of the protective surfactant lining the alveolar walls of the lung" she replied as she handed him his referral form. The man looked the form over.

"Dr. Peck-Stewart, I want you to take my card. I'm Jacob Smith, a partner at the law firm of Jones, Smith, and Jones downtown. We've been searching for someone of your caliber for some time. I'd love to have a chat with you about this position. We're desperate for someone with your expertise. There is a lot of travel involved but the compensation is generous. Think about it" he said as he walked out the door.

Holly nodded and stared at the card in her hand, unsure of what to think.


	23. The Family Woman-Part 5 (Final)

Part 5

Holly couldn't remember a thing about the drive home. She just knew that she needed to get there, needed to speak to her wife, share the great news that they'd be moving downtown, that she'd be starting a prestigious job. She burst into the front door, smiling ear to ear. Gail was in the kitchen, working on a puzzle with Felix and Jane.

"Gail!" the exuberant expression on Holly's face was evident by her wife's growing smile.

"What's up, Nerd? Good day?" she asked as she placed a piece of the puzzle.

"The best! Pack your bags! We're moving!" Holly exclaimed.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Gail replied.

"Gail, honey! I was offered a job downtown with a big law firm! We can send the kids to private school and we can buy a penthouse apartment!"

Gail got up from the table, realizing Holly might actually be serious about this. She didn't want to have this conversation in front of the kids. She took the brunette into the living room.

"Why would we send the kids to private school? They already go to a great school, one that they love, and do you really think Sophie will want to transfer high schools?" the blonde asked.

"Gail, we're not talking about good schools, we're talking about the best schools in the country!" Holly was surprised that she was having to convince her wife this was a good idea. Gail hated suburbia; Holly thought she would have been thrilled to move back to downtown Toronto.

"And it's not just amazing schools" Holly continued "it's the extras as well. We won't have to shovel the sidewalk anymore!"

"If you hate shoveling the sidewalk so much, get a snow blower!" Gail bit back.

"This isn't only about that. I'd finally be able to get my career going. This would be such a huge accomplishment for me. You know that forensics is my passion, I'd have a chance to move into that field and start my career over. You said so yourself, we don't have any money! This would change that" Holly was becoming irked that Gail was resisting what she could only see as positive change.

"Starting your career over? Holly, this isn't just about you or the money! We have a family now, spending time together is more important than our bank statement"

"Gail, you're not understanding what I'm saying. This is an opportunity for us to change everything! We can finally have the life that other people envy"

"Holly" she said to her wife with a look of pity, "we already do."

Later that evening, after baths and bed time stories, of making sure Sophie finished her assignment and Holly helping her study for her upcoming math test, the two women were sitting in the their living room.

"You know, I've been thinking a lot your job offer" Gail started, "and how it would change our lives. I honestly never thought we'd leave this house. I imagined us all old and wrinkly out back, me sitting on the deck and you in the garden. I had visions of our grandchildren visiting us in this house, of Christmas mornings opening gifts together. But if it means that much to you, if you need this, I'll go. I'll take the kids from the school they know and love, I'll bribe Sophie with some electronics, and we'll move. I'll take myself from the only home we've ever shared together and we'll get the condo and live downtown. I'll do it because I love you, you're the woman I want to spend my life with, and our address doesn't matter. I choose us" she stated simply with a smile before leaving Holly to her thoughts.

Holly wasn't used to factoring other people into her decisions; she wasn't a selfish person, but it had been a long time since she had been in a long term relationship. She didn't have kids, and any decisions she made at the university were to serve the common good of the university, which always served her purpose. Never had she had one of her employees making the sacrifices that Gail was talking about, and it struck Holly that she didn't know what to do now. She mulled over Gail's words for a while before deciding she'd need to talk this out more with her wife.

On her way to bed, she noticed a light peeking out from underneath Jane and Felix's door frame. She stuck her head in to find Jane still awake, sitting beside her bedside lamp, reading a Clifford book. Holly crawled in next to her while Jane read the book aloud, helping her with words that were harder to sound out.

Once they finished the book, Holly tucked the little girl in again, and kissed her goodnight, when she felt two little arms wrap tightly around her neck.

"I knew you'd come back" Jane whispered into Holly's ear.

"I love you, Jane" she told her daughter as she held her tight.

"I love you too, mommy"

Holly turned out the light, but felt the need to check on Felix while she was there. She leaned over him to brush the hair from his eyes and to take the glasses off his face. She could feel, while she was doing this, that he had a bit of a fever. The doctor in her wanted to start treatment now, before he was complaining of symptoms so he wouldn't feel too rotten in the days to come. She checked the medicine cabinet for children's aspirin, but there weren't any left. She didn't want to wake her son so he could take the tablets now, but she wanted him to take them first thing in the morning, so she put on her shoes and jacket and made her way to the local convenience store.

Once she'd found what she was looking for, she headed for the cashier. Who was standing there but Mona, working the till. _Damn woman, _Holly thought as she walked up to the register.

"Dr. Stewart getting children's medicine. All domesticated now, I see. You really figured some things out, huh?" Mona said with a bright smile.

"You're not sending me back" Holly almost growled. "You can't send me back. You can't keep doing this, coming in and out of people's lives. It's not right!"

"A glimpse is by definition an impermanent thing, Holly."

The doctor didn't know what to say, and felt irate that this life was about to be taken away from her after having had it thrust upon her. She angrily threw enough cash onto the counter. She looked at Mona before she walked out the door and said "I have kids. I'm going home."

Holly was terrified of falling asleep, knowing full well that when she did, she'd be thrown back into the life she'd had before, a life she no longer wanted. She watched her wife sleep as she sat in the arm chair in the corner of their room, tears silently falling down her cheeks. She was so angry that she had missed the chance to be with Gail, to have this life, but she was even angrier that it was going to be pulled from her grasp now that she did have it.

The exhaustion eventually took over, and Holly fell asleep.

The sound of dubbed laugh tracks and Sam and Norm's voices were the sounds that woke Holly. She looked around the room, glasses still on her face, and realized she was back in her apartment in California. This wasn't surprising, but it was still devastating. She couldn't believe that in the short time she had spent with Gail, Sophie, Felix, and Jane, how much she had learned to love them, and how deeply she felt the loss of their presence in her life.

She was desperate to see if she could find them, if somehow her wife and children existed in this life too. She tried calling Gail's cell, only to be told by a robotic voice that the number was not in service. She tried the landline next, and was ecstatic when the line started ringing.

"Hello?" the voice of an old man filled her ear.

"Bill? Is this Bill Peck?"

"I'm sorry, dear. You have the wrong number"

"Wait!" Holly shouted before the man had a chance to disconnect, "I'm looking for Gail. Is there a Gail Peck who lives there? Or anywhere in the neighbourhood?"

"I'm sorry, dear. I don't know any Gails or Pecks. Goodbye"

Holly quietly nodded as she pressed 'end' on her phone. She didn't know what else to do so she accepted the fact that she was back where she started. She was furious with Mona, not sure why she would be shown this glimpse if nothing could ever come of it. She was irate with herself for ever letting Gail go. She wanted to smash every dish she owned on the off chance it might relieve the feeling of unbearable sorrow and emptiness.

Instead she decided she better finish the budget.

"I'm going to finish this budget, alone. Then I'm going to eat dinner, alone. Then I'm going to go to bed, alone. Because this is my life, this is reality. I am utterly alone" she said aloud, to no one.

She was nearly finished the budget and about a third of the way through her Pho, when her cell started ringing. She was about to ignore the call based on the rational that she better get used to spinster-hood sooner rather than later, when she checked the incoming number. Area code 416. Toronto.

"Hello?" she answered tentatively.

"Hi… is this Holly Stewart?" the voice on the other end, a voice that sounded so much like Gail's, asked her.

"Speaking. Who's this?"

"Well, it's Gail Peck" Holly's heart nearly burst through her chest. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm working a case that's led to San Francisco. My colleagues tell me you're the best pathologist in California, not that I'm surprised. Anyway, we have a body down there that's a key part of my case. I was wondering if you'd agree to do the autopsy for me? I know it's a lot to ask, and I know you must be very busy, but I-"

"I'd love to" Holly nearly shouted into the phone.

"Oh, okay" Gail replied with a nervous laughter. "I really thought I'd have to convince you."

"No, I'll do it. I'm glad you called, actually"

"Really? I was worried you would hang up on me"

"Why would I hang up on you?"

"I honestly don't know, I was just nervous, I guess. It's been such a long time and then I call out of the blue to ask for a huge favour" Gail told her.

"It has been a long time. How have you been? Are you married?"

"I'm good. I'm in charge of Guns and Gangs now. No, never married. You married?"

"Not exactly" Holly replied. "Do you have any kids?"

"No, I don't" Gail said in a soft voice. It struck Holly that Sophie's adoption must have fallen through, the hurt in the blonde's voice detectable. Holly's heart broke for her.

"Me neither" Holly told her, wanting to move past any painfully memories. "Listen, I'd really love to see you. I know this sounds crazy, but I really feel like we missed a chance at something, you and I. I don't expect anything from you, but would you like to go for coffee?"

Holly could hear the hesitation on the other end.

"Coffee would be nice. I'd really like that."


	24. Holly finds a book of drawings by Gail

Gail moves in with Holly and while Holly is unpacking the boxes she finds Gail has a sketchbook filled with drawings of herself.

Holly set the box down on the pile of boxes in her bedroom. _Actually, _she thought with a smile, _in our bedroom._ She had finally found the courage last month to ask Gail to move in with her. The blonde's response was to roll her eyes and say "finally! I can't believe you let me live at the frat house for so long!" then tackled her on the couch for some appreciation sex.

She opened the top of the box to start unpacking. It was mostly clothes, but at the bottom of the box she found a notebook. It didn't like a diary so she convinced herself she wasn't invading Gail's privacy.

It certainly wasn't a diary, it was a sketchbook filled with drawings of the brunette. She had not idea her girlfriend was such a talented artist. She was amazed at how lifelike and alive the portraits were. She was looking at the third drawing in awe when the sketchbook was snatched from her grasp.

"No, no, no, no, no, no" Gail was saying as she closed the book and stuffed it under a pillow on her side of the bed. She hopped on top and sat cross-legged right on top of the pillow and book and crossed her arms.

Holly was still standing where she'd been when the blonde the stole the drawings mouth agape. She looked at her girlfriend who was a deep shade of crimson, all balled up at the top of the bed, staring at the duvet.

"Gail" she said as she moved to her, "I had no idea you could draw like that. They are so beautiful!"

"You weren't supposed to see them" the blonde mumbled.

"Baby, I love them. They're so amazing!" Holly said as she snuggled next to her on the bed.

"Not creepy?" Gail asked, managing only a sideways glance.

"Creepy? You drew me! I'm so amazed" Holly stroked Gail's jaw, trying to get theblonde to look in her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yes! If you don't want me to see them, that's fine, but please don't hide them from me because you think I won't like them"

"Okay" Gail nodded as she pulled the sketchpad from underneath her behind.

"Okay? So you'll let me look at them?" Holly asked hopefully.

"Absolutely not!" Gail shrieked as she jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. "That is, not unless you let me watch your audition tape for So You Think You Can Dance?" she said with barely controlled glee.

Holly's face fell. "How did you know?"

"I found it when I was making space for my X-Box. I'll let you see these drawings if you watch your audition tape with me. Deal?"

Holly thought about it for a few moments. Gail's wriggling eyebrows were what made her finally agree. "Deal"

*15 minutes later*

"So, no more sharing things that are embarrassing for a while?" Holly asked as she cringed through the video.

"Agreed" Gail replied as she nervously watched Holly and her drawings.

Both women promptly got up and hid their prospective sources of embarrassment.


	25. Backup Beatbox

This ficlet is inspired by the OTP Prompts blog, and this prompt in particular:

Imagine Person A of your OTP singing loudly and aggressively to block out someone nagging them. Person B starts beatboxing to back Person A up.

Holly's twin is definitely the same woman from Athingor3's Waking Up ( s/10497553/1/Waking-Up). In my mind, Holly has a twin named Izzy.

Enjoy!

Gail walked into the townhouse she shares with Holly. She knew that her girlfriend's twin was over because behind Holly's SUV was Isabelle's car.

When she opened the door, her ears were immediately assaulted by Holly singing (screaming, really) Row, Row, Row Your Boat over what was presumably Izzy trying to talk to her. She found the sources of the obnoxious noise in the kitchen.

"Gail!" Izzy called to her. "Come tell Holly she needs to go to our high school reunion. Tell her it will be fun."

Holly had stopped "singing" when she realized her twin was talking to another person in the room. "We're not going" she told Gail.

All three women knew that if anyone was going to be able to convince Holly to go, it would be the blonde. Gail started walking toward her girlfriend and her twin, Izzy thinking it meant Gail was on her side.

"We're going to have so much fun! You'll get to meet-"

"ROW, ROW, ROW YOUR BOAT, GENTLY DOWN THE STREAM!" Holly shouted.

Gail watched Holly. Her face all screwed up, her eyes scrunched closed, and her index fingers stuffed in her ears like earplugs. Gail looked at Izzy who was wearing the smug grin of someone who'd just won.

"Buh buh ts budda buh ts" Gail beatboxed along with Holly's lyrics, using her hand as a mic.

Izzy's jaw dropped. "You two were made for each other" she announced over the racket on her way out the door.

Holly stopped and so did Gail.

"Thank you" the brunette said, relief written across her face

Gail shrugged. "I know you hated high school. I'd never make you go back."

Holly smiled and pulled Gail in. Holly's eyes were bright and she wriggled her eyebrows. "Maybe instead, we'll have our own reunion? You know, with our bodies."

"Oh my God, Nerd. You're lucky you're hot. That was bad"

"You love it"

"I do" Gail said as she led Holly to the bedroom.


	26. Holly dates someone elseGail is jealous

AU where the 4x12 interrogation room kiss never happens. Gail and Holly remain best friends, but it's when Holly starts dating someone new, Gail is jealous but doesn't realise it until someone (Steve/Oliver/Traci) gets her to admit it.

"The blue or the brown shirt?" Holly asked Gail as she held up two shirts still on their hangers for the blonde to approve.

"I like the-"

"Or should I wear a dress? Do you think a dress is too formal? Maybe a skirt would be better? But if I wear a skirt then my shoes are more obvious and if I wear flats then she might think I'm frumpy, but if I wear heels, maybe she'll think I just want to get into her pants?"

Gail just stared as Holly nervously prattled on about her date. This was the fourth time she was seeing Melanie, a fellow pathologist she met at a conference a few weeks ago. She was nice, intelligent, according to Holly was funny, and she didn't look like a total troll, but Holly thought she was beautiful, so there was that.

Gail didn't like her.

She had tried to explain to her best friend what it was exactly about this other woman that was so off-putting, but she couldn't really find the words. Instead she used sounds like "blech", "meh", and some sort of wordless vocalization of "I don't know". These noises usually accompanied a shrug and a pinched up face from the officer. Holly just laughed and said this was the first real potential girlfriend she'd had in a long time. Gail was always offended that Holly didn't think their friendship was enough.

Later that evening, Gail found herself at the Penny. She had gone home after helping Holly choose her outfit, but had felt restless at home. She needed a drink. She was annoyed that Holly wasn't answering her texts, even though she knew it was selfish of her to expect it. She wanted Holly to be happy but she felt so… icky when she thought of Holly out with this Melanie woman. Maybe she'd need to start finding a woman she thought was good enough for Holly herself. _That's a good idea_ she thought inwardly as she contemplated her whiskey, _I'll find Holly the perfect woman and they can live happily ever after. _

A hand slapped down on her shoulder. The only human being brave enough to approach Gail in such a manner was Oliver. And he was the only human being she'd let do it. _Except for maybe Holly_ she thought.

"Why so glum, darlin'?" he asked as he ordered himself a beer.

"What are you talking about, Oliver? I'm just having a drink" she replied with more intensity than she'd intended.

"You look like someone killed your cat. Not to mention your partner in crime is nowhere to be seen" he replied casually as he took a sip of beer.

"My partner in crime?" she tried to play stupid. She knew he meant Holly.

"You know who I'm talking about. Is she why you're here drinking alone? Did you two have a fight?" It never ceased to amaze Gail how Oliver could be so direct, so on-point, yet never threatening, never questioning with an ulterior motive. She didn't know really how to answer his question so instead of delving into it, she kept it short.

"No, we didn't have a fight. She's on a date" she told him as she swallowed the last of her drink. She ordered another.

"Like a date date?" he asked, surprise registering on his face.

"No, like a tea party. Of course a date date."

"And you're okay with this?"

She turned in her chair to take in his expression. She was confused by the question, thinking maybe he was a making a joke she didn't understand, but the pinched eyebrows and squinting eyes told her he wasn't kidding.

"Why would it matter what I think?"

"Well, because you two are an item" he said.

Gail coughed on her drink.

"What?" she demanded.

"You and Holly. Together. If you aren't telling anybody, my lips are sealed" he told her as he pretended to zip his lips closed and throw away the key.

"Oliver, Holly and I are not a couple. We never have been. Her being out on a date is not why I'm here" she told him.

"You aren't dating? Why not?" he asked in that damned way that always made her so reflective.

"Why would we be dating, Oliver?"

"Because you have feelings for her. Not to mention that she's great. She's a catch, Gail"

"I know she's a catch, Oliver. She's beautiful, funny, smarter than everyone I know combined, not to mention the fact that she gets me. Of course I have feelings for her; she's the most wonderful person I've ever met." Oliver watched as Gail got lost in her own speech.

"Why haven't you told her that?"

"Oh sure, I'll just tell my best friend I've been thinking of nothing other than how her lips taste or how her skin feels first thing in the morning. I'm sure she'd love to hear that. That wouldn't scare her away at all" the blonde scoffed before taking a long pull of her drink.

"It wouldn't; it's pretty hard to scare her away" came a voice from behind them.

"It looks like Sammy over there needs a partner for darts. Ladies" Oliver said as he offered his stool to the brunette who'd suddenly appeared.

"What are you doing here?" Gail asked, hardly able to make eye contact.

Holly shrugged. "I wasn't feeling it."

"I thought you liked her?" she asked.

"I did. But then I purposefully left the table so I could read your texts and it hit me that that I would rather be spending my time with you than anyone else. I honestly had no intention of telling you that I like you, but since I overheard your conversation… Gail, would you like to go out with me this Friday?" Holly asked her with a smile.

"Yes" Gail responded, mirroring back the look of happiness. "Now let's get you a drink!"


	27. Chris asks out Holly, she says yes

GailxHolly Prompt: Chris has a crush on Holly so Gail convinces him to make a move on her, wanting to see him get turned down for her own amusement. Holly catches on to Gail's plan, she and Chris decide to get back at Gail by going on a date. Cue jealous Gail.

"So Gail" Chris started as they reached the bar to get another round. He wasn't meeting her eye. She was fairly certain of what he was about to ask, having been witness to his chest puffing and general male bravado directed at Holly all night.

"Holly's cool, right?" he said, trying to ease into the awkward conversation that was asking an ex-girlfriend about her best friend.

"Yes Chris, she is cool. Otherwise we wouldn't be friends."

"Is she single?"

Gail didn't really know how to respond to this question. They were dating but hadn't told anyone. She decided now wasn't the time and Chris wasn't that person.

"Yes Chris, she is single"

"Do you think she'd go out with me?"

She wasn't sure if it was the Christmas season, the jolly mood of the Penny, or the fact that she was happy lately, possibly due to the budding, if not secret, relationship with Holly, but Gail decided she deserved a Christmas gift.

"You know what?" she said as she patted his shoulder, "I think you should go for it."

"Really?" his sweet face lit up. Gail almost felt bad. Almost.

"Absolutely!"

"You're not just saying that to, you know, mess with me?" he asked with a modicum of suspicion.

"That was a long time ago, Chris. We've both moved on." She smiled as she grabbed the drinks and headed back to the table.

*Four days later*

"Oh, shoot! I better start getting ready or I'm going to be late!" Holly said as she got up from the couch.

"Late for what? We haven't even finished the season yet!" Gail replied with indignation. "Where the hell are you going?"

"I have a date" Holly told her matter-of-factly, heading to her room.

"A date?" Gail was so shocked she couldn't move. "I thought we were… well, okay, I'm just going to leave then."

She only made it two steps before a hand grasped her own.

"I thought we were too, but apparently a little birdie told Chris that he and I would make a great couple, so that little is going to sit here while I go out on said date and have a great time." Holly smiled so big Gail had no idea what to say.

"And that little birdie is going to help me choose an outfit because she is also Chris' ex and probably knows what he likes." Holly pulled her to the bedroom.

"I think I'll wear this little number." The brunette pulled a gorgeous dress with a deep v-neck and a very, _very_ lengthy slit that cut almost up to her hip. Holly knew how much Gail loved her legs, so she put it on just to torture her.

"Do you think he'll like my legs?" she tried to ask nonchalantly, but her pleasure at teasing the blonde seeped through. It didn't really matter because Holly's hair could have been on fire and Gail still wouldn't have noticed judging by the way she was staring at the slit and the leg it barely contained.

"Holly, anyone with a pulse and half a brain will like that dress" she finally said, pulling herself from her reverie.

"So this is the one then?"

Gail knew if she just apologized and was honest this thing would all end. Instead her stubborn streak kicked in and mixed with her territorial jealousy. She'd endure tonight then threaten Chris with an amateur vasectomy if he even so much as looked at her again.

"Mmmmhmmm" she replied with pressed lips. Holly nodded, knowing she was getting to the cop.

"Great!" she walked into the bathroom and Gail threw herself onto the mattress and closed her eyes, furious that she'd found herself in this situation.

Twenty minutes later Holly emerged with loose curls and subtle smokey eyes, something Gail didn't notice until the brunette was draped over her.

"How does my perfume smell?" she husked into the blonde's ear as she hovered her long neck across Gail's face.

Gail opened her eyes to the glorious sight of Holly's plump breasts and her sensitive neck, ripe for nibbling. She couldn't stop the growl escaping the back of her throat.

"You can't go out with him" she said as she started tracing her hands along the hem of the v-neck, ghosting along the skin of her chest. "I give in. You win. You can't go out with him" she admitted as she dragged her teeth along Holly's collar bone.

"Say it again" Holly whispered in Gail's ear.

"You. Win." Gail continued the trail along Holly's neck.

"YES!" Holly shouted as she jumped off her girlfriend. "Chris owes me a hundred bucks!"

"What?!" Gail asked, confused for the second time by Holly in the last hour.

"When Chris asked me out, I told I am a lesbian and that I'm seeing someone. He nodded and said "Gail?". My surprise gave it away, so I couldn't lie. He was pretty embarrassed so I said I would go out with him to get back at you. He figured were too stubborn to ask me not to go so we made a bet that you'd say something before he got here. So, I win!" she smiled brightly as she climbed back on top of the blonde and dipped her head in for a kiss.

Just then, Holly's phone started ringing.

"Hi Chris" she answered as Gail started sliding her hands inside the slit. She could hear him talking and was annoyed that she'd lost Holly's attention. She grabbed the phone.

"You lost the bet" she interrupted whatever it was he was saying. "You owe Holly a hundred bucks. Don't call back" she hung up and pulled Holly in for a deep kiss. The brunette just laughed and leaned in.


	28. High School Reunion Dropout

Gail and Holly attend Holly's high school reunion and Gail gets super jealous at all the attention Holly's getting.

"Uh" Holly moaned as the cab pulled up to her old high school. "I don't think this is such a good idea. Haven't I told you how awkward and lanky I was? I had headgear and glasses that were so old they weren't even in style 10 years earlier. Not to mention the fact that I had a pocket protector so my pens wouldn't stain my shirts."

Gail smirked having seen many pictures of her younger years. Mrs. Stewart was so proud of Holly and thought she looked so cute; Holly was mortified that she hadn't burnt the evidence of her "awkward years", let alone showed people.

"Come on, babe. Just think of how amazing it'll be when everyone sees how accomplished you are" Gail comforted her girlfriend.

"You mean hot, right? Everyone expected me to be a doctor, but now I can show them that I am the ugly duckling turned beautiful swan. Tonight is the swan's unveiling" she said wistfully.

Gail laughed. "Sure, you're gorgeous now AND you have a beautiful girlfriend to match."

"Oh, right. None of these people know I' m gay, so don't be surprised if someone mistakes you for my friend or is surprised"

"Oh" Gail's face registered confusion. "Are we pretending I'm just your friend?"

"God no! You're my smoking hot girlfriend. I wouldn't hide you from the Queen of England! Besides, I'd like to know what it's like to make out in the bleachers"

Gail just rolled her eyes as they put on their nametags.

"I'll get us a drink, why don't you grab us a table?" Holly said as she pointed to the bar.

Gail was about to answer when a man approached.

"Holly? Holly Stewart? Holy shit! I can't believe it's you!?"

Holly didn't recognize the slightly paunchy, over-cologned, balding man until she read is nametag.

"Mark Tibbits?" she looked incredulously at the man.

"In the flesh. Listen, I see you're not here with a fella. I was thinking I could show you around town later, you know, re-acquaint you." He winked as she said it. Holly looked like she was about to puke.

"No, thanks" she replied timidly, did 180 degree turn, and headed right to the bar. Gail couldn't stifle her laughter. She was glad Holly was getting the attention she wanted.

Gail's laughter abruptly ended when she watched another man approach her girlfriend before she had even had a chance to order a drink. By the time the bartender came over, there was a group of men surrounding her. Gail was not happy.

Holly pulled herself away from the group of men with two drinks in hand.

"Compliments of my grade 12 quarter back" Holly said as she set Gail's drink in from of her. Gail looked at the bar to see a man with slicked back hair smiling back at them lecherously.

"Was everyone this creepy at your high school?" Gail couldn't believe people could be so thick headed.

"I think so. Although I wouldn't really know. None of them ever talked to me" Holly shrugged it off.

Gail was not so content to do so and gave him the best death stare she had. He was too daft to notice her.

"Idiot" she mumbled and glared at all the looks her girlfriend was attracting. She was expecting people to notice Holly, not treat her like a piece of prime meat.

"What's wrong with these people? I feel like I'm in a friggin' zoo. No wonder you hated it here"

Just as she finished speaking another guy approached their table.

"Ladies, how are you this evening?" he said as he sat next to Holly and shuffled his seat in closer. "I'm sure you remember me, I'm Kyle Campbell, captain of the hockey team" his lips turned up in a smug grin.

"I'm sure you were" Gail replied with a flat tone.

"Somebody didn't bring her goodtime outfit" he laughed and looked at Holly, who was just staring back at him.

"I did, but I don't plan on wasting any of my 'goodtime' outfit with married dudes pretending they're single for the night" Gail deadpanned as she pointed to the groove on his ring finger. "Maybe you should find someone else to have a good time with?"

"Take it easy, blondie. I wasn't here for you anyway, I'm here for your friend…" he looked at Holly expectantly, waiting for her to give him her name.

"You know, I think I'm ready to have a good time tonight. You want to get out of here?" Holly asked. Kyle looked like he had just won the lottery.

"You bet, babe" Gail replied before Kyle could get out of his folding chair. His mouth was still agape when they were walking out the door.

"Gross! I can't believe I wanted attention from them" Holly shivered in disgust.

"Yeah. Some people never actually leave high school. I'm sorry we didn't get to make out in the bleachers thought."

"Oh, don't you worry; there are bleachers out back!" Holly laughed as she pulled Gail around the back of her alma mater.


	29. Songfic Challenge

**Anonymous asked: Since you're looking for prompts to inspire your muse, may I propose a challenge? It goes like this: shuffle your current or last playlist and pick the first five songs (no cheating!). Then you write a small story based on each one. Maybe 100-500 words? You may use the songs in the stories themselves or just as inspiration, whatever you prefer. Then you post and tag 5 people to do the challenge too. What do you think? Should be fun, right?**

This was a great idea Anon! It was a lot of fun!

I was tagged by shadowanddancer .

**1. Happiness by the Kilowatt - Alexisonfire**

She didn't know where it had all gone wrong, but somewhere along the way things derailed. _It wasn't supposed to be like this, _Gail thought. They were supposed to be the couple that lasted; they'd already endured their hardships.

But somehow, at some undetermined point, things just stopped working. They were both trying to be happy, working hard to keep up the facade, because that's what expected of them. Holly returned from the States, Gail didn't get Sophie, but they endured, together.

Yet here they were, staring blankly at the other, each with a thousand things to say, but only one question neither would ask: _where did we fail?_

Instead, it was silence, deafening silence, silence that filled the void in their relationship. Until it was broken by the sound of the front door closing on Gail as she carried a suitcase out to her brother's waiting truck.

**2. Silent Night - Josh Groban**

A/N I love Christmas songs and I think Josh Groban is incredibly talented, but his Christmas album left something to be desired.

Christmas is Gail's favourite holiday, although she'd never share that with another soul and tarnish her badass cop persona.

But Holly knew. She could see it in the way she lit up when they passed a beautifully decorated store front or when kids started talking about their letters to Santa. Gail had a lot of little traditions that she didn't really share, yet allowed Holly to witness and be part of. Holly knew for sure then how important the holiday season was for Gail.

This was year different for both women. It was the first Christmas they were together officially and, more significantly, the first of many Christmases spent without Sophie. The heartbreaking news that Gail would not legally be the girl's mother despite their deep connection came only a few weeks earlier.

Holly was impressed at how well Gail was taking things knowing how excited she had been to spend this Christmas with Sophie. The nightly phone calls before bed helped both tremendously, but the brunette knew her girlfriend was hurting.

She awoke Christmas morning to an empty bed, Gail's side cold. She slid down the stairs, not wanting to disturb Gail. Before she made it to the living room, she could hear the soft voice of the blonde singing.

_Silent night, holy night_

_All is calm, all is bright_

She finished the chorus. Holly wanted to say something, anything to announce her presence and make it so she wasn't prying on this beautiful moment when Gail started speaking.

"Merry Christmas to you too, Sophie-bug. I love you" she whispered before ending the call. She wiped the tears away and got up. She noticed Holly standing there and silently moved toward her, nuzzling into her neck for comfort, letting the tears come.

**3. Say My Name – Destiny's Child**

"_Say my name, say my name_

_If no one is around you, _

_Say "baby, I love you"_

Andy belted out the lyrics along with the karaoke while Gail cringed.

"Why did we decide to have this party again, Nerd?" Gail groaned to her girlfriend as they headed back to their living room where they were hosting a New Year's Eve party.

"Because it's fun, we'll be more comfortable here than at the Penny, and we can engage in PDA and nobody can get angry because it's our own house" she smiled as she pulled the blonde into her lap.

"Lame excuse" Gail muttered as her cheeks reddened. Holly pulled her closer and kissed her darkening cheek.

"How about because you love me?" she whispered into Gail's ear.

"I guess so" she rolled her eyes and kissed her girlfriend.

"It's not even midnight, Peck. Keep it in your pants!" Holly giggled.

"Shut up" Gail replied as she pulled the brunette closer.

**4. What Goes Around Comes Around – Justin Timberlake**

Holly is nothing if not strong in mind and body. She works out regularly, eats well, reads, and is dedicated to her field of work. She never complained and was always civil.

Until she got sick.

Then, as Gail discovered, she became a baby. She sniffled and whimpered and looked at Gail with the biggest, swollen red puppy dog eyes. The blonde couldn't help laughing when Holly snuggled into her lap while they were watching their third romantic comedy of the day.

"Don't laugh" Holly whined. "You're gonna get sick too and I'm gonna laugh at you" the usually mature Holly pouted.

"No, I'm not, I don't get sick" Gail replied smugly as she stroked Holly's hair.

*Three Days Later*

_Cough, cough, sniffle, sniffle_

"Gail, sweetie, are you sick?" the now healthy brunette asked as she rubbed her girlfriend's back.

"No" a weak-voiced Gail replied. "I'm healthy as an-"

_Cough, cough cough_

"Karma is a bitch, isn't it?" Holly laughed as she pulled Gail in to snuggle.

"I'm not sick" Gail mumbled as she let Holly spoon her.

**5. Monkey Tree – Mother Mother**

"Gail! You have to stop playing this song for the baby!" Holly chastised her wife.

"Why? He loves it! We sing it together all the time. Look! He's dancing!" Gail pointed to their bobbing toddler who was gargling along to the song.

"It's not really appropriate for children"

"It's about monkeys, Hol. We painted monkeys on his bedroom wall" Gail replied as she picked up their son and bounced him around the living room to the song.

"He's singing about booze and drugs. Monkey tree is a euphemism. This is not an appropriate song for our toddler" Holly replied.

"So what? He can't talk yet. It could be a string of expletives and he'd never know. Lighten up, Hol. Look how much fun he's having!" she said the last bit in a cooing voice as she tapped her son's nose with her finger.

Holly rolled her eyes. She knew she was going to lose this one. She always did when Gail played the cute baby card.

"Here, Mama. Dance with your son and see how much he likes it" Gail smiled as she passed her wife their boy.

Holly reluctantly started swaying as Gail danced too. Their son started laughing prompting the brunette to go for it. She was belting out the lyrics and shimmying around the living room with him on her hip, when she caught Gail's eye.

"See, Nerd? It's a good song!"

Holly just rolled her eyes and continued on with the chorus.


	30. Son fils (a French prompt)

This is ficlet written in French for Matldorge.

Je suis gêné de voir combien c'était le travail.

J'espère qu'il vous plaira!

«Bonjour mon petit prince! Es-tu réveillé? C'est le matin, le matin de ton premier anniversaire! Tu es âgé d'un an» Gail chuchotait à son fils alors qu'elle le tenait.

«Ca fait déjà 365 jours que je suis ta maman, et ca fait 365 que je t'aime.»

Le garçon babillait et se mit a rire. C'est un bruit qu'elle ne s'ennuyer plus jamais. Même quand il crie, ou pleure, ou quand sa merde monte sa chemise, Gail adore son fils, le fils qu'elle a adopté avec son épouse.

«Gail, chérie, nous sommes en retard! » Holly la dit comme elle enfile sa chemise.

«Ça va, nous avons déjà tout ce qu'il faut» Gail a dit avec une sourire.


	31. Out of my League (Reverse 5x03)

**Gail is a lawyer or something and holly is a barista at her usual cafe a they ended up having a relationship and when Gail went to introduce her to her friends they say shed out of her league and all that and Holly overhears but Gail defended her... something like 5x03 but the other way around**

"Thanks, Hol" Gail smiled to the brunette behind the counter of the coffee shop in the lobby of her office.

"You're welcome, babe" Holly winked back at the lawyer.

"Are you flirting with the barista, barrister?" Leila, Gail's colleague and former fellow classmate asked.

"We weren't flirting" she stated matter-of-factly.

"She called you 'babe'! That's so inappropriate" Leila chastised.

"We were not flirting and it's not inappropriate anyhow because she's my girlfriend" Gail replied smugly.

"Your girlfriend? Gail, you graduated top of the class, you're one of the most promising lawyers at the firm. I mean, if you're just having fun, I get it- she has a rocking bod. But she's just for fun, Gail. You can't be serious about a minimum wage employee; you're out of her league."

The speech itself was insulting and infuriating enough, but the mock sympathetic tone was what really pushed Gail over the edge.

"Out of my league? Do you know what she does with her tips? She buys the extra muffins at the end of her shift with her discount and gives them out to street people. She was accepted into all of the top medical schools after her third year of her undergraduate degree but had to drop out because her parents passed away in a car crash and she had to move home to take care of her younger siblings" Gail was having a hard time controlling her emotions but kept her voice at an even tone. Her eyes, however, betrayed her rage.

"Holly makes me want to be better, as a girlfriend, as a lawyer, and as a human being. She is the most wonderful person I've ever met, and if your elitist ass can't see past her job, that's your problem, not mine" Gail was raising her voice by this point.

"So if you think she's not good enough for me, you're wrong. I'm not good enough for her" she stood up from her chair and was about to storm out when she saw Holly standing right behind her with two muffins in her hands and tears in her eyes. Gail didn't know what to say, how to apologize for the hurt her friend's words caused.

"I… I'm sorry" she whispered.

Holly dropped the snacks and pulled the blonde in for a deep kiss.

"I'm not. Thank you" she said when they'd broken apart.

"You're welcome" she mumbled, suddenly embarrassed by her outburst and the looks she was getting from those around them.

"Come on, let's go sit over here. I'll get you another muffin" the brunette told her as she led her to another table. Gail just smiled, followed, and didn't look back.


	32. Out of my League Flash Forward

omg that fic where holly is a barista and gail is the barrister was the best! do you mind doing a flash-forward/a few years later, where Holly returns to school and graduates first of her class in med school. meanwhile gail and leila drifted apart, and one day gail and holly at her some fancy dinner and leila congratulates gail for the "upgrade", and is shocked that Dr. Stewart is actually Holly the barista from a few years ago. 333

"Congratulations, Nerd! I'm so proud of you" Gail smiled from ear to ear and she touched her champagne glass to her wife's. "To Dr. Stewart-Peck, the best soon-to-pathologist in the country."

Holly blushed as Gail doted on her. In their two years of marriage there is one thing she knew about her wife: she does not pay a compliment unless it is the truth. Holly was proud of her accomplishments but more than anything she was grateful for her wife and her unwavering support. She'd known since the outburst at the coffee shop when Gail defended her to her snotty friend that Holly had known she'd found a keeper. And here they were, four years later, celebrating her completion of medical school.

"Thanks, babe" Holly replied to her beautiful wife as she sipped her champagne. Gail had insisted they go to dinner so that the blonde could treat her to a well-deserved evening of luxury. Holly was most excited about the Victoria's Secret bag she'd seen tucked away in Gail's side of the closet.

"You deserve it, Hol. Top of your class, that's truly impressive." Holly blushed again.

"You were top of your class too, Gail" she replied.

"Yeah, but that's only because I have the best death glare and it throws people off their game. It's also the reason I have to best record in court" she replied smugly.

"Oh? Not because you're so dedicated, you actually care about your clients, you poor over every detail to ensure that it's correct? None of those reasons?" Holly teased.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah" Gail rolled her eyes, but Holly could see a bit of colour on her cheeks. She knew how much her wife cared for others, despite her absolute refusal to admit it.

"Gail?" an unexpected voice came from a woman passing their table. Both women looked up.

"Leila" Gail replied in an even tone.

"How are you? I don't think we've spoken in years" she said with an unkind smirk. Gail wouldn't bite, hoping she'd just leave.

"I'm well, thanks" was all she replied.

"And this must be your lovely wife. I don't think we've met" Leila said as she offered her hand to Holly.

"Actually, you have" Gail cut in before Holly could say anything. "This is Dr. Stewart-Peck, she just graduated top of her class at the University of Toronto, School of Medicine. Formerly a barista at a coffee shop. You remember her now, right?" Gail bit.

"Actually, I still technically am a barista" Holly interjected.

"Oh, right. But that's only because she is an operating partner now and occasionally fills in" Gail smiled at her old friend. Apparently she was not ready to let Leila's slights go. She didn't mind, Leila's friendship wasn't a loss.

"You probably shouldn't forget her again, seeing as she's been hired on as a pathologist with the medical examiner's office. You'll be working with her a lot in the future, seeing as you're at an office specializing in gruesome murder. So I guess your cases will be depending a lot on her. It's a good thing she isn't out of your league professionally, otherwise you might have a problem" Gail continued.

"Okay, I'm leaving, Gail. It was nice to meet you again Dr. Stewart-Peck. I look forward to working with you" she gave Holly a tight-lipped smile and continued toward the restroom.

"That was kind of mean, honey" Holly chastised when Leila was out of earshot.

"No, I wasn't. It was honest. It only sounded mean because of my tone of voice" Gail smiled despite her irritation. "Besides, she interrupted my toast. To the best wife a girl could ask for. Cheers, babe!"

"Cheers!" Holly smiled for the millionth time that evening.


	33. Out of my League Holly's POV

**You should write the reverse 5x03 from Holly's POV...**

Out of my League-Holly's POV

You would never know it based on her smile, but Holly Stewart was no stranger to the hard knocks life can give. She had been excelling in her degree in biochemistry, accepted to the best medical schools on full scholarship, when tragedy struck: her parents were killed in a head-on collision. She did the only thing she could and moved home to care for her younger siblings. She found a job at a coffee house downtown that would work around her hectic life and even offered benefits. This wasn't what she'd wanted in life, but she had adapted, and was even happy.

The blonde lawyer was certainly someone who added to that happiness and she was grateful for it. Had circumstances been different, Holly was certain she'd never have had the chance to meet Gail. It was hard to keep her feelings to herself whenever she came into the café in her pinstripe suits, it always did something to Holly's libido, and her ever present smile went from bright to luminescent.

"Thanks, Hol" Gail said as she smiled at her. The creases in Gail's forward made it obvious that she scowled much more often than she smiled, which made these moments that much more special.

"You're welcome, babe" she replied with a wink. The look on Gail's colleague's face told Holly that maybe the wink was overkill. She didn't care. She had been accepted into her top choice medical school today and nothing was going to dampen her mood. She couldn't wait to tell Gail later.

"Hey, Holly, you can take your break now, I'll take the counter" Clara, the owner of the coffee shop, said. Clara's smirk told Holly it was a favour; Gail was in so she was given time to spend with her.

"Thanks, Clara"

"I think your lady needs breakfast" she teased as she handed Holly a couple of muffins. Holly just smiled and playfully rolled her eyes, but accepted the offer none-the-less.

She was approaching Gail and her friend when it became obvious to her that they were not having a pleasant conversation.

"Holly makes me want to be better, as a girlfriend, as a lawyer, and as a human being. She is the most wonderful person I've ever met, and if your elitist ass can't see past her job, that's your problem, not mine" Gail was telling the woman with barely controlled anger. Her eyes were throwing daggers.

She wanted to interject, to tell her girlfriend that she didn't need to defend her honour to this woman. The slight hurt, but Holly was comfortable with who she was, and more than that, she knew her self-worth wasn't governed by her wage. It was the sound in Gail's voice that prevented her from interrupting; the indignation, the fury, the disgust. But more than that, it was Gail's ardent defense of the brunette; she was publicly declaring that she was on Holly's side. Holly was overwhelmed with feelings of love and caring.

"So if you think she's not good enough for me, you're wrong. I'm not good enough for her" Gail practically shouted as she stood from her chair. The look of shock on her face made Holly drop the muffins to the floor. She could feel tears stinging her cheeks but she didn't care.

"I… I'm sorry" Gail was stuttering as Holly pulled her in for a kiss.

"I'm not. Thank you" the brunette replied when they'd pulled apart. She was so unbelievably happy at that moment, she couldn't think of anything that would top it, except maybe for sharing her good news with her girlfriend.

"Come on, let's go sit over here. I'll get you another muffin" she smiled as she led Gail over to another table.


	34. Jealous Holly

**Although jealous Gail is one of my favorite tropes, and I know that one of the key things about Holly is that she doesn't do drama, I really want to read a jealous Holly fic. Kinda like, Gail, who does do drama and how amirite :) deliberately trying stuff just to see what would make Holly jealous. Grand gestures - flirting with others, or making insinuations etc - doesn't do it but something fairly innocuous - like off-handedly calling someone else a 'nerd' - and hello, green eyes :)**

Gail was as blunt as they came; whatever she was thinking she was saying, often times with amazing clarity and even if it came with enough bite to require anti-venom. Her girlfriend, however, was as diplomatic as they came. Holly didn't like to cause confrontation unless it was necessary, preferring to use her words or let things slide.

Except when it came to her blonde, cop girlfriend.

Holly tried her best not to let her jealousy rear its ugly head, but she was incredibly territorial when it came to the people she loved and how others treated them. Holly's moments of jealousy didn't bother the blonde. There was nothing that turned Gail on more than a growling Holly trying hard to curb her jealousy, but falling short and instead aggressively claiming the blonde as her own. The sex was always fantastic afterward.

The problem was it wasn't always obvious to Gail what made her girlfriend jealous. Sometimes it was as simple as an innocuous touch on the arm from that dummy Luck, the cop from 27 Division. Holly appeared from nowhere to subtly, if not forcefully, inform Luck that Gail was seeing someone.

Another time Holly had convinced Gail to go dancing with her and some friends at a lesbian club downtown. One of the girls wanted to do body shots so Gail dutifully, if not enthusiastically, climbed on top of the bar to offer herself up. Holly smiled and laughed while the woman pushed her shirt up and poured rum in her naval and proceeding to suck it out. The brunette didn't bat an eye, didn't make a fuss. Gail was confused.

The blonde had decided that she was going to take the time tonight at the Penny to discover what it was that sent Holly over the edge. If that meant that at the end of the night the brunette took Gail home and had her rough way with her, well, Gail was willing to pay that price. More than willing.

Gail eased into it. She made a point of sitting next to Chris. That didn't seem to bother the pathologist so Gail stepped up her game. She started shameless flirting with him, even went so far as squeezing his bicep and loudly complimenting how firm they were. She almost puked while she said it, but it didn't provoke Holly in the slightest. A poor, confused Chris nearly ended up with a fat lip when he decided to flirt back.

Gail was keeping a metal tab. It wasn't proximity to exes or shameless flirting. Maybe it was just women? She tried Traci next.

"Trace, you look really good in those pants. They really show off your nice ass" she called across the group of people. That way Holly would be sure to hear her. The group fell silent.

"Ummm, thanks, Peck" Traci replied with a questioning look. Gail just smiled back and turned so she could see Holly's face. She wasn't angry or upset, she was stifling laughter. Gail huffed, annoyed that that didn't do it either.

"Yeah, whatever, Trace" she mumbled back.

She pulled out all the stops. She laughed loudly at McNally's stupid joke that wasn't funny, she bought Chloe a drink, which she immediately regretted, she even listened diligently and feigned interest as Swarek told a story about his days undercover. Nothing. Not so much as a scowl. She was out of ideas and tired of pretending like she cared about what her friends had to say. She needed a break and another drink, but Dov wouldn't leave well enough alone.

"Gail, which Rio de Janeiro hotel became famous for a Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dance in the film _Flying Down to Rio_?" he asked.

"I don't know, Dov" she deadpanned.

"It's the Copacabana Palace. What was Atlanta called before 'Atlanta'?" he ignored her lack of enthusiasm. She glared at her roommate. Dov waited a few seconds before answering.

"I would have accepted either Terminus or Mathasville" he smiled.

"God Dov, you're such a nerd" she replied exasperated.

And just like that, Holly was at her side. She wrapped her arm around the blonde and placed a quick kiss on her lips, before turning and looking questionably at Dov.

"Are you jealous, Hols?" she asked, surprised that the weak insult was what did it.

"No" she defended herself too quickly.

"Really? Because it seems like you are" Gail responded. Holly rolled her eyes.

"Fine. I might be a tiny bit jealous"

"Because I called Dov a nerd? Why does that make you jealous?" Gail also laughed at the ridiculousness of it.

"Because that's what you call me" the pathologist replied sheepishly.

"Seriously? I've been trying to make you jealous all night, and that's all it takes?" Gail asked as wrapped her arms around Holly's neck.

"Why have you been trying to make me jealous?"

"You're always so aggressive when you're jealous. I had a long shift today and I was just, I was hoping we'd, you know, let off some steam later." It was Gail's turn to act sheepish. Holly laughed.

"You could have just asked. I'll gladly take you home right now" she said as she started kissing Gail's neck. "And I promise, I won't be gentle."

A shiver ran down Gail's spine.

"Let's go" she said as she started for the door.

"Gail, our coats" Holly said.

"They'll be here for us tomorrow. Come on, my Nerd" she said as she pulled Holly out of the Penny.


	35. Sassy Pants

**Anonymous asked: College/highschool au - Gail is drunk at a party and getting hit on by a few guys and she drunk texts Holly. Based on this post: laurenrosenicole. tumblr post/91531174942**

_Sassy Pants: boys are stupid_

Holly read the text from her snarky blonde girlfriend. A text this late meant that booze was involved.

_Nerd: Why is that?_

_Sassy Pants: One guy told me that he's better than sex with a woman because he's the real deal_

Gross, Holly thought as she rolled her eyes.

_Nerd: Ewww! What did you say?_

_Sassy Pants: That there was nothing about sex with a woman that wasn't real. And that I preferred imitation crab anyway._

Holly laughed. Being away from Gail was tough but they were getting through it. They were looking forward to next year, when they would both be at the same university.

_Sassy Pants: Another boy asked me point blank if I would sleep with him because "that would be so hot"_

Holly could hear her girlfriend using a mocking voice when she read the message.

_Nerd: Sounds like you're having fun then._

_Sassy Pants: No, I'm not. The music is bad, the girls are all gossiping about how cute the boys are, and the guys are having chugging contests_

_Sassy Pants: Why aren't you here? If you were here I could hold your hand. I could sit on your lap and we could laugh at little jokes, and maybe we'd sneak into the bathroom after I'd gotten you all nice and liquored up ;)_

Holly's heartrate increased. Gail was never forward with her feelings and it made the brunette feel warm inside, even if Gail was drunk.

_Nerd: You don't have to get me liquored up to sneak into the bathroom with me_

_Sassy Pants: I know. It's just that I really miss you_

_Nerd: I miss you too, babe. I'm coming home this weekend so we'll 48 hours together uninterrupted_

_Sassy Pants: Holly?_

_Nerd: Gail?_

_Sassy Pants: I lurv you_

Holly's breath caught in her chest. She had wanted to say it for a while now, but knew that she needed to let Gail say it first. And here it was, intentionally misspelled in a drunken text, late on a Thursday night. How very Gail. Holly thought it was perfect.

_Nerd: I lurv you too, Gail_


	36. Gail thinks she's out of Holly's league

**Anonymous asked: Gail nd Holly r dating and the get into a stupid argument and Gail's insecurities creep in and she tells her she knows she's out of her leage and then Holly's heart breaks 'cause she didn't know bout that and she tells her how much she loves her.**

"Gail! I've asked you a hundred times not to leave your stuff on the stairs! I nearly broke my neck this morning on your utility belt. I almost seriously injured myself on the thing that's supposed to help you protect people!" Holly told her girlfriend angrily as she poured herself a cup of coffee.

"What do you mean 'supposed to protect people'?" Gail replied in an even tone.

"What?" Holly asked, exasperated.

"You said you 'almost seriously injured yourself on the thing that's supposed to help me protect people'. Do I not actually do it?" Holly could hear the bite in Gail's tone.

"Of course you do! That's not what this is about. You're an amazing cop, you know I think that. I'm asking you not to leave things where they become a tripping hazard. This isn't Mario Kart."

"So now I'm a bad police officer and my video games are stupid? Good to know you feel that way." Gail turned around and headed up the stairs to their bedroom.

"Gail Peck! Do not put words in my mouth! I didn't say anything like that- what are you doing?" she asked as she watched the blonde put some clothes into a duffel bag.

"It's okay, Hol. I get it. We both knew you're out of my league. I'll just go before it gets ugly" she said, bitterness laced her voice.

'What?!" Holly said for the second time in as many minutes. She tossed the bag aside and grabbed Gail's hands. She couldn't believer after all their time together Gail could possibly feel that way.

"Gail, I don't know why you think that. You remember when my niece came over for the weekend? I wanted to take her to the theatre?" she asked the blonde who still wouldn't meet her eyes. "You made us go to the ROM instead and she loved the dinosaurs."

"That's because they're awesome" Gail mumbled.

"Right? But I would have made the weekend suck. Remember when I slipped in the park jogging and sprained my ankle? You knew something was wrong because I never took that long on my run. You came and found me and you carried me almost a kilometer back to the car. Or that time my cousin made a snide remark at dinner that about how I'd never have 'real' children? And you ripped him a new asshole in front of my entire family when all I could do was swallow the hurt he caused?" She lifted Gail's chin so she could see her favourite colour: the cerulean of Gail's eyes.

"He certainly apologized the next day" Gail responded, smugly.

"See? You are so amazing in so many ways. I wish you saw yourself like I see you." She wrapped her arms around Gail's waist.

"I'm sorry" Gail said into the crook of Holly's neck. "I've had an awful week at work my mother has been riding me about the next detective rotation. I'm sorry I took it out on you."

"It's okay, but can you just tell me next time instead of doing this?" Gail smiled and nodded. Holly could feel it against her skin.

"So you'll stay?" Holly asked.

"I'll stay"

"Good. Cause I kinda like having you around" Holly whispered into Gail's ear.

"I kinda like you too, Lunchbox" she heard the blonde murmur back.


	37. You Belong With Me

**Gail and Holly in high school or college... something like Taylor Swift's you belong with me**

"Ashley, you know I want to spend time with you, but this test is really important. I have to keep my grades up if I'm going to keep my scholarship." Gail could hear Holly whispering to her girlfriend while they stood near her locker.

"Are you saying that some stupid test is more important than? Than us? You need to figure this out, Holly" she replied before she stormed off, obviously upset.

"Ash! Wait! God" Holly groaned as Gail approached.

"Sorry you had to hear that" she said, obviously embarrassed her good friend had to witness the spat.

"It's okay. Everything alright?" the blonde asked her friend, knowing the answer full well.

"It'll be fine, I guess. She doesn't get sometimes, you know?" Gail nodded her understanding. "Uh, okay. I'm late for biology. See you after class?" Holly asked.

"You bet. Good luck with your presentation, Nerd'

Holly smiled at the nickname given to her by the blonde when they'd met at the beginning of the school year. "Thanks, Gail."

"Uh" Gail groaned as Holly walked away. _What a cliché, falling for your best friend_ she thought. _At least it's an update. "Straight" girl falls for lesbian best friend; it's a friggin Greek tragedy. _ She was shaking her head as she walked off to gym class.

"And then the teacher said 'No, you're on fire!'" Gail laughed at the joke that Holly could barely get through, trying the entire time to stifle her giggles.

"You two are weird" was Ashley's stone-faced reply.

"Come on, babe, it's funny! The teacher-" Holly couldn't continue, she was laughing so hard. Ashley looked at Holly and rolled her eyes.

"She wants me to stay in Toronto so I'll be able to see her on weekends" Holly explained to Gail. It was obvious how much turmoil this was causing the brunette.

"Doesn't she know how amazing the program in Vancouver is?" Gail asked, astounded that Holly was even considering giving up her spot at the country's top forensic school.

"She doesn't think it's that important. She says Toronto is good enough" she said as a tear rolled down her cheek. Gail nodded and pulled her in for a hug.

"I broke up with Ashley"

"Oh?" Waves of emotion washed over the blonde.

"Yeah, she didn't get me and I don't think I ever really got her. We were on different paths, you know?"

Gail could only nod, afraid words would betray her true feelings.

"And… well, I realized there was someone else I'd rather spend my time with." The look in her eye said everything Gail had wanted to hear from her mouth. She couldn't stop herself; she kissed Holly, her best friend.

Holly grinned. "I'm glad you think so too."


	38. A Pack of Pecks

**Anonymous asked: future fic: golly babysit for a baby (mcswarek baby? steve/traci baby?) and it makes them talk about having one themselves.**

"She's asleep?" you ask your wife as you hand her a cup of tea, the sweet babe slumbering in her arms one of the cutest you'd ever seen, and seeing Gail rock her melts your heart.

"Yeah, I tuckered her out pretty good with that last game of peek-a-boo" the blonde replies in her ever cocky tone.

"Good God, I hope our kids have your confidence" you tell your wife as you snuggle into the couch next to her.

"Of course they will. Pecks are awesome and we make sure everyone knows" she tells you. "Isn't that right, cutie" she coos to the snoozing baby in her arms.

"I want one" you blurt out before you really have time to think about what you're saying. There's a quiet moment when Gail's piercing eyes look right into your own and you swear she can read your thoughts. You've been talking about kids ever since you'd gotten married a year ago, but always in the abstract, always as a future plan; this is the first time either of you has mentioned actually going through with it. Her blank face makes it hard to read her emotions.

Then she smiles.

"Me, too" she says as she looks down at Steve and Traci's daughter.

"Yeah?" you ask, your heart swelling, what feels like past its capacity, watching your wife like this.

"Yeah. That's why we have an appointment next month with an OB/GYN that specializes in same sex fertility" she tells like she would if she were making a sandwich.

"Really, Gail?"

"Yes." Her Peck confidence again. "I want a whole pack of Pecks; little nerdlets running around with their tiny lunchboxes. And I saw you when Traci was pregnant" she tells you as she strokes little fingers wrapped around her index.

"You did?"

"Yeah, I know you want this too. I can already see you pregnant, all round and glowing. I can't wait" she smiles at you and you can feel the tears running down your cheeks.

"I love you" you tell your wife as you kiss through the tears.

"I love you, too"

"And they're going to be Stewart-Pecks" you remind her.

"Peck-Stewart" she counters.

You roll your eyes. "Fine" you reply as she kisses you again with her smug smile. You know you would have agreed to any name, so long as they were yours together.


	39. Self-defense Saturday

**Okay my first real request of a fic. (Blush) but you asked for it :) Okay - a Golly fic - self defense class/training - because of the shooting at the station back then - anyway a bit fluffy - H & G know one another as friends or not at at yet you decide.. Totally okay if you don't do it just a L-word scene I was thinking at - but much more modifide into a Golly scene :)**

Here you are, my dear! It's not so fluffy, because I couldn't really keep it fluffy in light of the whole Ford thing. Let me know what you think of it!

"Alright everybody, partner up and we'll practise this" the instructor called to the class.

Holly pulled the punching pads onto her hands while Gail stood and looked bored. The self-defence classes were in response to the attack on the station. Really, they were in response to Holly's response to the attack on the station.

Gail tried to remind her that a) she was a police officer who carried a gun; b) self-defense lessons were redundant for her; and c) she already had a lot of hand-to-hand defense training from her days at the academy. Holly's response was a) I don't care; b) there's no such thing as too much training; and c) you're doing this for me and my piece of mind, so shut up and do it. She then smiled and kissed her girlfriend quickly on the lips so she knew it was final. Gail always caved when it came to Holly. So here they were on a Saturday afternoon taking a self-defense class that Holly had registered them for.

"Do you think you could kick that woman's ass?" Gail pointed to the fit instructor in her spandex exercise clothes.

"You realize the point of this isn't to hurt people, it's to make sure they don't hurt you" Holly reminded her girlfriend. She added a push to Gail's side with a mitted hand for emphasis.

"What if I told you she was staring at my ass earlier?" Gail teased with lifted brows. She watched the jealousy flash across Holly's eyes.

"You're not going to bait me that easily, Peck. We're here for a reason, so focus" she replied as she lifted the pads for Gail to practice. The blonde huffed.

"But Lunchbox, I'm hungry and it's our only day off together this week. I had a lot of physical activity planned, but it involved fewer articles of clothing and quite a few less spectators" Gail whined.

"We're doing this" Holly said, resolve written across her face.

"Uh, fine" Gail said as she punched the pad in Holly's hand pathetically.

"You're not even trying" Holly chastised. "Come on, give it your all" she encouraged.

Gail punched again, with barely any more effort than the first time.

"Seriously?" Holly was pissed. Gail was immediately hyper aware; her girlfriend was rarely angry and seldom raised her voice. She knew this was serious, she just wasn't sure why.

"Uh…" she started, but Holly was already pulling off the punching pads and marching toward their stuff.

"I… I'm sorry, Hol" Gail chased after her girlfriend. She caught up to her as she was pulling her sweater out of her gym bag. "Holly, I'm sorry" she said again, not knowing what else to say.

Holly threw the sweater back into the bag in frustration. She huffed and stood up to look Gail in the eye.

"You don't get it, do you?" she asked.

"Get what?"

"What it's like for me. Being the girlfriend of a police officer, knowing too well the harm you put yourself into."

"It's not that big of a deal, Hol" the blonde tried to placate her girlfriend.

"Yes it is!" she shouted. Holly regretted her outburst instantly as the others in the room shot them curious glances. "Yes, it is a big deal" she said again, this time calmly but in a very serious tone.

Gail looked at the ground, not sure what to say. It was true; she'd spent her life surround by police officers and was one herself. She didn't know what it was like to be an outsider looking in.

"I know you're a good cop, I know you're well-trained, but look at what happened with Ford. Chloe and Sam both nearly died, Oliver was kidnapped, and you were shot at. I'm allowed to be worried; I'm allowed to be upset when this sort of thing happens."

Gail nodded in defeat. "You're right" she mumbled.

"What was that?" Holly asked.

"I said 'you were right'" she repeated with an eye roll. "I'll never understand what it's like for you. And if you were caught in a zombie war, I'd be worried too" she told Holly. It finally struck her why they were at this gym on their day off; Holly needed to make sure Gail could defend herself. It was for the officer's safety, but more for Holly's own reassurance. She had to see for herself that Gail could take care of herself on the street.

"Come on" Gail said as she grabbed the sweater from Holly's hands. "Let's finish this class."

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Thank you" the brunette said softly. "And I could absolutely kick her ass."


	40. Comfort Kiss

**Hey! How about a college AU where Holly and Gail, who are best friends, okiss for the first time after Gail has fight with her mother over the phone?**

"My degree won't affect my application mother. People are accepted into the academy with biology and engineering and history degrees." Holly could only hear one side of the muffled argument, the same conversation that took place when Gail made her weekly call to check in. The brunette was trying to focus on her text book and not on eavesdropping, but the small room they shared made it difficult.

"I don't think it's unreasonable to get to choose my own major!"

Holly turned the page.

"What do you mean you've already called the university?"

Holly examined the diagram of the Krebs cycle intensely.

"I-… Why-… What?!"

Holly squinted harder at the page.

"Yes. Goodbye, mother." Gail ended the call and flopped onto Holly's bed. "She changed my major" she mumbled into the comforter.

Holly closed her book and stroked the blonde mop of hair. She knew Gail's mother was a pain; they'd been friends through high school. While Superintendent Peck, as she preferred to be addressed by Gail's friends, had always been pleasant enough, Holly knew what it was like for Gail.

"I'm sorry" she said quietly. Blue eyes brimming with tears met hers. Holly reached down to pull Gail to her so she could snuggle her, not knowing how else so comfort her. Gail moved willingly, burrowing into the crook of Holly's neck.

Gail was still sniffling so Holly attempted to comfort her with words. "Please don't let her get to you, Gail. You're so smart" – she kissed Gail's cheek- "and dedicated" –she kissed the other cheek- "and loyal". Holly placed her lips softly against the blonde's. It was quick and so tender Gail nearly didn't notice.

She looked at Holly and smiled before dipping her head back towards the brunette's for another kiss. This one was still for comfort, but was deeper and more exploratory. When their lips parted, Gail looked into Holly's eyes. "Thank you" she whispered.

"You're welcome" Holly whispered back. "Let's watch Star Wars."

Gail grinned and tucked herself under Holly's comforter. "That's an awesome idea, Nerd."


	41. Guardian Angel Peck

**Golly prompt: Gail's a fallen angel whose wings have been given to some human (Holly) in a symbolic way (necklace for exmpl). Instead of stealing it, she starts getting to know the her and falls in love and she doesn't want to be an angel anymore.**

Her shoulder blades were sore. She could feel where her wings were supposed to be, but weren't. She kept forgetting that they had been taken away.

Gail was being punished. She wasn't a particularly good guardian angel, but she really wasn't _that_ bad, she had defended herself to Staff Angel Shaw. She made sure the humans she looked out for didn't die if they weren't supposed to, and never really meddled in their lives. Unless it proved humorous. Which was why she was in trouble.

"Peck, you know this isn't how we operate. You don't intervene until there's a chance they'll die before their time, not because you're bored" he told her with a tight lipped smile from behind his desk.

"Oh, come on Staff Angel. He was walking past a banana peel! How could I pass up that opportunity?"

"Because he was late to meet the woman who was going to introduce him to his future wife. Not to mention the fact that the same woman who would introduce him to his wife, would marry his own sister."

Gail rolled her eyes. "Love. Yuck."

"Just because we don't get to experience the human condition doesn't mean we get to toy with it" he chastised.

"Well it's a good thing I'm not a human, I'd be so much better at it they are" she mumbled.

"I'm glad you feel that way, because you're heading down there" he announced with a smile.

Her face dropped. "What?!"

Shaw stopped riffling through his desk. "This one is beyond me, kiddo. You were told to rein it in and you didn't. Be grateful. I convinced Superintendent Angel Peck to let me handle the punishment. You know she would have made it much harsher" he told her.

"Fine" she replied.

"Okay. So give me your badge. You'll have to leave the robes behind and wear something a little less… obvious. Oh, and leave your harp by the door" he pointed to the spares.

Gail just sat and sulked.

"Up you go, Guardian Angel Peck. You'll be human in no time" he patted her on the back.

"Wait. For how long?"

"Until you get your wings back" he said as he was pushing her out the door. "And I'll take this" he grabbed her harp.

"Get them back? Who has them? How will I know where to find them?" she demanded as he started closing his office door.

"You'll figure it out. You're smart, Peck. I have faith in you."

"Did you want to supersize that?" Gail asked the gentleman at her till in the driest voice she had. She was frustrated. She could feel where her wings had been and it was like having an itch you couldn't scratch. She wanted to stretch them out; instead she was wearing a rough cotton shirt and polyester pants, waiting to see how badly this man wanted diabetes.

Suddenly, the itch was gone. She could breathe comfortably despite the awful uniform and for the first time since landing on Earth she could think clearly. She knew they must be near, the sudden peace she felt was intensifying.

A woman walked through the door and Gail could see them immediately: her wings. The woman was wearing her wings, but they weren't her usual set, they had been transformed into a golden necklace pendant.

She groaned. Maybe she could just snatch the pendant from her necklace and be done with it. Head back up where she belonged, a wing-having, robe-wearing, harp-playing guardian angel.

_Better not_ she thought.

"What do you want?" Gail demanded then winced. For the first time in a long time she had not wanted to sound so rude, but she was so distracted by her own damn wings.

"I'd love a coffee and a blueberry muffin, please" the woman said pleasantly despite Gail's treatment.

Gail nodded and started pouring the coffee. She couldn't stop staring at her wings, glinting in the light. She didn't even take her eyes off them as she started making change. She opened her mouth to ask about them when she was interrupted.

"Gail!" her manager shouted at her. "Are you leering at this woman?" Before Gail even had a chance to retort, the woman defended her.

"No, no! I was just telling her about my necklace" she said with a smile.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, absolutely" she nodded to add emphasis. The manager backed away, making sure to give Gail a once over look. She responded in kind with a glare.

"Thanks" Gail said when the manager finally left. "I really was looking at your necklace." The woman just nodded. "But I'm sorry if I was making you uncomfortable" she mumbled as she stared at the floor.

"It's okay. That man is horrible to his staff. Even if you had been drooling I would have defended you. And you're pretty anyway" the woman replied, turning red once she'd realized what she'd said.

Gail just laughed. "Who's being the creep now?"

"Hey! I just defended your honour! You should be thanking me!"

"Well, I'll reward you with my company. I'm about to head on my break. I'll join with you my own muffin" Gail smiled. Despite the joke made about not being a creep, she couldn't take her eyes off the wings, and it was starting to get awkward. So she was honest. Sort of.

"I know I keep staring at the necklace, but my… grandmother had one just like it. Kept it through the Depression, and I was to inherit it, but then… I lost it" Gail was surprised at how guilty she felt about the fib. Being a human was much more complicated than she'd anticipated.

"You know what's funny? I just found the necklace in the bottom of my drawer the other day. I didn't even know I had it!" she smiled as she turned the pendant over in her hand.

_Hardy har_ Gail thought sarcastically. She was glad she censored herself this time.

"I'm Holly, by the way"

"Gail"

"Your manager is a jerk, Gail. Why do you work here?"

"It's sort of complicated. I have another job, but I'm sort of working through some stuff before I can go back full-time."

Holly looked at her with concern.

"I'm not loony or anything. I didn't snap. I'm doing some… research"

"Oh, like undercover. Gotcha" Holly nodded.

"Sure. Undercover" she mirrored Holly's nod. "Why do you come here if you think the staff's treated so poorly?"

"Because I think you're cute" she said then turned bright red. "Damn it" she mumbled.

Gail couldn't stop the grin. "You say a lot of words."

"I know" Holly replied as she tried to stuff her face full of muffin so her mouth could no longer betray her.

"The muffins are also tasty-" Holly stopped speaking and her eyes nearly doubled in size. "I… I didn't mean that in a sexual way. I… I've never slept with any of the staff here." She dropped her head in her hands. "I just meant the pastries" she groaned.

Gail let out a throaty laugh. "You know what? Why don't' you let me take you to the Muffin House. You'll taste so many amazing muffins you'll wonder how you thought the muffins here were ever that tasty." She finished it off with a wink for good measure.

"Really? You still want to interact with me after that last ramble?" she asked.

"Only if you promise to keep being so weird" Gail replied, thinking the wings must be bringing out a playful but kind side of her out.

Holly rolled her eyes, but the twinkle in them let Gail know she was excited about it. "Okay" she answered.

"MMMmmmmm. Oh my god, Gail! This is muffin puts all others to shame. It's practically a cupcake" Holly moaned through a bite of the treat Gail insisted on purchasing. She knew if the brunette liked the blueberry muffins then she'd love the one Gail chose for her.

"I know, right? I found this place a couple of weeks ago. I come here pretty much every day" she admitted.

"How are you not 1000 pounds?" Holly asked. Before Gail could respond Holly started moaning again. Gail wasn't sure why, but she felt like her stomach was doing flips. _I must have eaten something off, _she thought as she dismissed the sensation.

"Perk of my other job, I guess" was all the blonde replied, hoping it wouldn't be pursued. Gail was surprised at how little she focused on the wing pendant around the brunette's neck and how much she was focussing on the woman herself. The way she envied the muffin and the way Holly's hand caressed it. _You wish you were a muffin now, Peck?_ she chastised herself. _Being human sucks. _She looked up at Holly and her eyes were sparkling as she told Gail about her day. Her stomach flipped again. She shook her head to clear her muddled thoughts.

Holly cocked an eye at her when she noticed the head shake. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm good. Do you want another muffin?" she asked as she handed the brunette the box she bought.

"MMmmmmm! Yes I do!" Holly's eyes lit up again and Gail let out a sigh. This human business was a lot harder than she'd anticipated.

"Thank you for a lovely evening, Gail" Holly told her when they'd arrived at her front door.

"You're welcome" she replied with more confidence than she was feeling. She felt weird. She didn't want to leave Holly's company but she couldn't quite place the feeling in the pit of her gut. She was about to ask her a question when she felt the brunette's lips pressing softly against hers. It only lasted a second, but Gail was hooked.

"I… I'm sorry. I don't even know if this was a date, it's just that I've been wanting to do that all night. I'm sorry. I won't come back to your work. You don't have to see me again" Holly rambled as she dug for her keys in her purse.

"Holly" Gail said as she placed her hand on her arm and forced her to turn around. "I'm really glad you did that. I'm new to… this, these sorts of emotions, so I'm happy you did that. Can I see you again tomorrow?" she asked tentatively.

"I'd like that" Holly replied as she gave her another quick peck and headed into her apartment.

Gail smiled the entire way home. _God, I look like an idiot _she, _I hope nobody is paying attention to me_. She knew that wasn't going to be the case seeing as she was one of them, down here. _Everyone is going to give me such a hard about this. But I don't care. _Her smile grew wider.

"Hello, Peck" Staff Angel Shaw's voice scared her as she walked through the door.

"Are you really sitting here all alone in the dark, Shaw?" she shot.

"Why, yes I am, my dear" she replied, unmoved by her annoyance.

"Why are you here? I don't have them back yet"

"I know. I was just checking in. Also wanted to let you know that we've been watching, yes, even the kiss, and we want to let you know that we think you're ready to come back. You've experienced human emotion and you understand what we're doing now" he told her.

"Oh" she replied dejectedly.

"You don't sound too thrilled" he told her as she sat down next to him on the couch.

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm glad" she smiled weakly. "Actually, I'm not glad, Oliver. I want to stay here. I want to get to know Holly. Maybe I'll get my wings back, maybe I won't. But I'll be okay if Holly keeps them" she told him with a confident nod.

"I'm not surprised at all, Peck" he slapped her shoulder with his hand. "You're in this now, good luck. I know you'll be happy."

"Thanks, Oliver. I think so too" she nodded again.

"She'll protect your wings, Peck. Take care of her."

"I plan to" she told him again as he faded away, joining her old colleagues as Staff Angel. "I absolutely will" she said again to herself.


	42. Singing in the Shower

**Prompt: either Holly or Gail loves to sing in the shower - any genre, whether with or without words, but the other one doesn't see the appeal. During a lazy shared evening shower, the singy one starts to hum and eventually gets the non-singy one to join in. When they get out they're in full swing (think Bohemian Rhapsody guitar solo type thing). Thanks!**

"_The sailors say 'Brandy, you're a fine girl_

'_What a good wife you would be_

'_Yeah your eyes could steal a sailor from the sea'_

_dooda-dit-dooda dit-dooda-dit-dooda-dit''_

Gail could hear her girlfriend singing over the sound of the running water of the shower and tap while she brushed her teeth. She wasn't a bad singer, she was decent, actually, but Gail just couldn't understand the appeal. Why sing in the shower? Why did these songs even pop into her head? You got in, you washed, then you got out. That's all there was to a shower.

"Who's Brandy?" she called to her warbling girlfriend in a faux-jealous voice.

"Oh, just my other girlfriend" Holly called back.

"Hardy har har, Hol"

"You asked" she teased. "Would you rather I sang something else? I know!

"_I would do_

_Anything for love_

_And you know it's true and that's a fact_

_I would do anything for love, and there'll never be no turning back" _

Gail could see Holly's outline singing enthusiastically into the shampoo bottle. She couldn't suppress the laugh. She stuck her head past the curtain and sure enough, the brunette had her eyes scrunched close and was using her free hand to gesture wildly along with the band in her head.

"You really rock out in the shower, Nerd" Gail commented. Holly stopped and opened her eyes.

"It's fun!" she replied.

"I can think of more fun things to do in the shower" Gail wriggled her eyebrows. Holly rolled her eyes. "You like sex in the shower, don't lie" the blonde chastised.

"I do, but not everything is about sex" she replied.

"No. Sometimes it's about cheesepuffs" Gail countered. Holly looked her dead in the eye and then sprayed her with water.

"Mmmm" Gail moaned as Holly slowly rinsed the conditioner out of her hair. She was grateful they bought a detachable showerhead for when they showered together. "There is nothing better than a lazy Sunday filled with sex, topped off with a nice, hot shower" she sighed as she warm water ran down her back. She took another deep breath and let it out slowly. She always felt relaxed when Holly was in the shower with her.

She was lost in her replays on the afternoon's activities, grinning like an idiot while Holly massaged her scalp. She was coming back to the moment because she could hear a humming noise, low and quiet, but changing in pitch. It was the opening line of _Bohemian Rhapsody_. She opened her mouth to give Holly a hard time when she stopped.

She was lost in her thoughts again, dreaming of the thing Holly did with her fingers earlier, when she could hear the crooning again. She opened her eyes and looked at Holly. She smiled but kept on humming. Gail rolled her eyes but turned around so her girlfriend could continue to run the water over her.

Holly slowly got hummed louder, eventually singing the words softly.

"_Mama, ooh,_

_Didn't mean to make you cry,_

_If I'm not back again this time tomorrow,_

_Carry on, carry on as if nothing really matters"_

By the time she finished the last line, she was singing loudly. Gail turned around so that she was facing the brunette. She had her hands on her hips, ready to give her a hard time, but Holly was starting the guitar solo. Instead of an air guitar, Holly was playing a showerhead guitar, rocking out without a care in the world. Gail couldn't resist joining in.

"_So you think you can stone me and spit in my eye?_

_So you think you can love me and leave me to die?_

_Oh, baby, can't do this to me, baby,_

_Just gotta get out, just gotta get right outta here"_

Both women were singing loudly while Holly gave it her all on the showerhead guitar and Gail nailed the air drums. With the final notes they were wrapping themselves up into plushy towels.

"Okay, I get it now" Gail conceded, "but I still maintain that sex in the shower is the best use of the space."

"I would never argue that" Holly smiled as she leaned in for a kiss. "Now let's go back to bed so we can have an encore performance later."


	43. Gail winces, thinking Holly might hit he

**Your OTP is fighting. When the argument gets heated, person A moves their hand to make a gesture, and person B flinches and covers their face. The argument halts as person A realizes that person B was once in an abusive relationship. Person A throws their arms around person B, hugging them tightly, reminding them that they could never hurt them.**

"Gail!" Holly screamed from the bottom of the stairs. Gail strolled out of the brunette's bedroom.

"What?" she asked annoyed.

"What has been the one thing I have asked you to do when you come over?" she said as she stood looking up at the blonde with her hands on her hips. It had been an exceptionally long day and she had been looking forward to a quiet evening with her girlfriend, not screaming at her from the entry of her home.

"Not to leave my crap lying around" Gail responded.

"Did you kick off your muddy boots when you walked in the door?"

"I took them off, yes, because I didn't think you'd appreciate me tracking mud through the house" she told her as she started to the top of the stairs.

"But did you notice that when you took them off you splattered mud all over the wall and the shoe rack, so now all my shoes are muddy?" Holly could feel the anger coursing through her veins. She knew Gail was taking the brunt of her day, but she was having a hard time calming down. "And now, instead of climbing into bed with you, I'll be spending the next while cleaning it all up."

Gail rolled her eyes and started moving down the stairs. "I'll clean it up" she huffed.

Holly exhaled. She didn't want their night to go like this. She was instantly regretting her outburst, admonishing herself for not taking a deep breath before talking to Gail about the mess. Frustrated, she lifted her hands to pull the too-tight ponytail from her head as her girlfriend passed her by.

Gail winced.

Holly stopped moving immediately.

"Gail, did you think I was going to hit you?" she asked. Holly felt sick to her stomach.

"Uhhh…" she responded as she opened her eyes again and relaxed her scrunched face.

"Gail" Holly whispered. "I would never, ever do that. No matter how angry I was, you deserve so much better than that. I'm sorry." Holly reached for her, tears brimming, and pulled her in tight. Gail melted into the embrace.

"It's not you" she mumbled. "It's just sometimes I have flashbacks to Perik."

"I'm so sorry" Holly said into her ear. "Come, let's go to bed" she told her as she led her up the stairs, having forgotten all about the mess.


	44. First 'I love you'

**"first time saying I love you" golly fic please. Can be fluffy or funny or whatever you like.**

Holly had a lot of varied interests, despite Gail classifying them all under the umbrella of 'nerdy'. She was an avid reader of historical non-fiction, she found running to be therapeutic, and she had recently gotten into developing apps. Gail was interested in none of those things, but they found mutual ground in their shared love of truly awful old horror movies.

When Gail moved into Holly's townhouse, she, of course, brought her X-Box. The blonde loved gaming, to the point that she was offended whenever anyone suggested it's a waste of time. RPG games were Gail's hobby and she took it seriously.

"Remember how you said we should make an effort to enjoy each other's hobbies?" Gail asked nonchalantly. Holly raised her eyebrows and cocked her head. Gail never did anything without intent.

"Yes" she replied hesitantly.

"Well, seeing as we broke in every room in the house, and sex is exercise, and exercise is _your_ hobby" she smiled and batted her blue eyes at her girlfriend, "we should play the X-Box together."

Holly put town her cup of tea and science article. "For starters, sex is an activity we both enjoy, so don't pretend like you 'endure' sex with me for my benefit. Second, if you want me to do something with you or for you, you can just ask. You don't have to barter for it" she responded.

"So, is that a 'yes'?" Gail asked hopefully.

"Yes, that's a 'yes'" the brunette replied.

A wicked grin spread across the blonde's face. "Get ready, Nerd."

"Oh, don't you worry, babe. I'm ready" she told Gail evenly.

The first level complete, Holly's character had accumulated nearly twice as many points as Gail's. The blonde, obviously surprised by the outcome, turned to look directly at Holly. She had an incredulous look on her face. Holly couldn't help laughing.

Oh, right. Holly loved gaming, too.

"What?" the brunette asked.

"What's happening here?" Gail asked as she pointed to the TV.

Holly shrugged. "Looks like I'm winning."

Five levels later, Holly had nearly decimated Gail. Gail's mouth was agape, eyes wide. "You… You beat me" she said with a tone of wonderment.

"Yes, I did" Holly replied while she picked her magazine back up. She didn't get very far into the article before the pages were ripped from her hands. Gail's bright eyes were looking right into hers.

"I love you" she said with a huge grin on her face.

"Because I beat you at a game?" Holly asked, completely caught off-guard by the admission. She'd been feeling it for a while, but had wanted to wait for them to settle into the routine of living together before she said it.

"That's one of the reasons" Gail replied, the look of amazement not leaving her face

Holly smiled and pulled Gail in for a kiss. "I love you, too" she said.


	45. Mugged in Paris

**Gail loses her badge at the end of season 3 and decides to travel through Europe. While site seeing in Paris she witness a guy stealing a lady's purse. Turns out to be Holly.**

**(and)**

**AU where Gail saves Holly from being mugged...**

I'm killing two birds with one stone with this prompt.

Gail was wandering through the 7th arrondissement. She had done this most mornings since arriving in Paris. Having lost her badge, she had nothing keeping her in Toronto so off she went to Europe. Unless you counted Nick, but she didn't really. They were destined to end anyway, so why put off the inevitable?

She would start her morning in the café around the corner from her hostel. Sip a café au lait before taking a pain au chocolat to go. She'd stroll, watching the local shops open up for the day, slowly meandering along Quai Branly until she reached the Eiffel Tower. She'd finish her pastry while she sat in the grass, watching the other tourists and local school children in their smocks. It was a pleasant way to spend the summer, if not lonely.

She was finishing up her daily pastry (her first of several daily pastries, if she was being honest with herself) when she spotted a beautifully lithe woman, meandering through the Champ de Mars. The dark haired woman was taking photos with her camera, not paying much mind to those around her. Gail had been abroad long enough to know that this woman was a prime target and sure enough, a young couple was walking right toward her. Gail got up and started moving toward this woman too.

She was nearly to the unaware women when the man reached out for her purse, while the woman stood nearby to distract everyone else from what was about to happen. Gail intervened.

"HEY!" she yelled. The olive skinned woman pulled her camera from her face and turned to look at Gail. She motion made her purse tug as Gail had surprised the would-be thief while he had his victim's purse in his grasp.

"Pardon, madame" he mumbled quickly before he slinked away quickly, his companion in tow.

"Are you alright?" Gail asked when she was finally standing next to her.

"Ummm, yes, I guess" the woman responded in the same accent as Gail's. "I'm not even sure what happened. Or what almost happened" she said with a confused look on her face. "Was I about to be mugged?" she whispered, as if saying it out loud would make it so.

"Yes, yes you were almost mugged" Gail replied with nod. "For someone so nerdy, you sure aren't that smart" she teased. The woman curled her mouth into a half-smile.

"What exactly about me is nerdy and what exactly was I doing that makes me stupid?" she asked.

"Glasses, camera, traveling alone" Gail prattled off quickly.

"You're alone" the brunette interrupted with a smile.

"Yes, but I blend in" Gail used her hands to gesture to the surrounding passers-by. "Et je parle français" she told her in near perfect French. The other woman just laughed.

"Then it looks like I've found myself a fellow Canadian tour guide" she smiled again.

"Uh, I don't think so" Gail retorted.

"Oh, yes I did! You're my knight in pale armour! Let me at least buy you a croissant, there's this cute little café right outside my hostel" she told Gail as she linked arms with her.

"Buy me all the pastries I can eat and I'll take you around for the rest of the day" Gail bargained.

"Deal! I'm Holly" she said.

"Gail" the blonde replied as they started down the road.


	46. Pen Pals

**Imagine your OTP used to exchange anonymous letters as children. Now person A goes to a university/college, and has to miss a lecture for some reason. They borrow the person B sitting next to them's notes and find the handwriting extremely familiar…**

_Dear Gail,_

_Thank you for sending me those stickers! I really like them and I put them on my bedframe. My mom got mad but let me keep them there. What is your favourite subject in school? I like them all! What do you want to be when you grow up? I want to be a doctor and an author. What's your favourite animal? I like penguins and polar bears, which is funny because they live at opposite poles!_

_Your friend, _

_Holly_

_Dear Holly,_

_I only sent you those stickers because I didn't like them. I keep all the cool ones. Why are you asking me so many questions? I will tell you this: my __favrit__ favourite animal is the box jellyfish. Some species are some of the most __poissonus__ poisonous animals in the world. _

_Gail_

Class was nearly over and Gail could not be happier about that. Medical Jurisprudence was her least favourite class and also her hardest. It was still relatively early in the semester and she knew she was going to have to work hard to keep her grade up. _Uh _was all she could think when she thought of this class. The professor was finishing her lecture so Gail started packing up her things.

"Excuse me" the girl sitting next to her said. Gail turned to look at her.

"What?" she snarled. The girl seemed un-phased.

"I missed the last class. Do you think I could borrow your notes?" said pleasantly.

"Do I look like your personal tutor?" Gail retorted.

"No, you don't. You look like a smart woman, which is why I'm asking to borrow your notes" she replied confidently. Gail looked at her again. She definitely earned some points for being a quick thinker.

"Fine" she replied, "but I get copies of your notes for the rest of the semester."

The girl just smiled at Gail as she took her notes. She started scanning them when she stopped and looked at the blonde again. "Is your favourite animal still the box jellyfish?" she asked with a grin.

"What?" Gail responded, not in the mood for games.

"Is it okay if I borrow some of your cool stickers, if I need to?" she continued with a giggle.

"I have no idea what you're talking about and if you're going to be a weirdo, I'm going to take my notes back" Gail deadpanned.

"You're Gail, right? You went to Swansea Junior Public School?" she asked.

Gail glared at the brunette. "I want you to know that my parents are high ranking members of the Metropolitan Law Enforcement of Toronto. If you keep stalking me, I'll have you arrested and thrown in jail."

"What? No! I'm Holly, your elementary school pen pal! I'd recognize this awful penmanship anywhere!" Holly told her as she pointed to Gail's notes.

The mention of pen pals was vaguely familiar to her. "Holly? From Vancouver?" she asked.

"Yes! I'm glad to see that your snarky-ness wasn't something you lost during puberty" she teased. Gail just glared.

"Oh, come on. There's a Tim's Horton's around the corner. Let's go get a coffee. I'll copy your notes and you can continue to accuse me of crimes" she said as she grabbed her backpack.

"Fine" Gail grumbled. "But you're buying and I wand a donut."


	47. First Real Kiss

**Dedicated to Succubitches and loosely based off her first kiss. **

Holly wandered around the frat house looking for her friends. It was packed. The annual Halloween party at the Alpha Delta Phi house at the University of Toronto was legendary. She came on the promise of free alcohol and no lines, both of which were true, and an epic party, which technically wasn't a lie, but she was not having the greatest time.

She was there with some of the girls from her dorm floor, most of who were excited about cute boys. Holly was still grappling with her own sexuality and tried to avoid situations and conversations that would require her to declare it. But it was Halloween and, damn it, she was going to enjoy herself.

She wandered into the living room in her skimpy firewoman's outfit when she spotted Gail, her roommate. The blonde was talking to a guy who looked like he was getting too close. Holly could see from where she was standing that Gail had a look of disgust on her face so she made her way over to intervene. She opened her mouth to ask how she's finding the party when she found herself being pressed against the wall. Gail held one of her hands above her head, her other was palming her breast.

"Just go with it" Gail husked into her ear before pressing her into a deep and languid kiss. Holly couldn't stop it if she wanted to. She felt like her body was on fire, as if her neurons had not been properly firing before. She could feel every inch of her body and whenever Gail's skin touched her own, it was as though lightning was striking her.

The kiss itself was perfect. Less tongue than she'd ever experienced, which _surprise!_ was so much better. It was as though all the boys she'd kissed before had had something to prove.

Before Holly had a chance to take things further, one of their friends tapped Gail on the shoulder. Gail pulled away, but the look in her eyes was one of deep desire. Holly took a deep breath and bee lined to the bathroom.

"Holy shit!" she said to her reflection as she tried to fix her lipstick. She took a few more breaths while she gave herself a pep talk. "Come on, Stewart. You can get through the night. There's nothing going on with you and Gail. She's pretty, that's all. You are not attracted to your roommate, who is a woman." She took one last deep breath and walked out.

She had every intention of finding Gail again, just to have a normal conversation to help cool her down. She meandered into the kitchen to see Gail sitting on the counter, laughing at a joke Jess, the girl who lived across the hall from them, was telling.

_Shit. I'm hella gay _Holly's brain blurted out without censorship. _Thank God that wasn't said out loud _was Holly's second thought before she shook her head and decided it was time to leave.

She was still sitting on the edge of her bed in her costume when the door opened and Gail walked into their shared dorm. Holly swallowed hard, trying to collect herself.

"Hi" Holly managed to say. Gail smiled at her.

"Hey. Thanks for helping me out earlier. That guy was being creepy and even after I told him I'm gay, he wouldn't leave me alone" she said as she sat next to Holly on the bed.

"Yeah, no problem" Holly nodded. The room was silent, neither looking at the other. Holly was terrified. She was thinking of all the ways she could avoid Gail for the rest of the year despite being roommates. Maybe she'd just spend every spare minute at the library. Just come back to sleep and shower. _It could work_ she thought.

Her thoughts were interrupted by her brain short circuiting from the touch of Gail's hand on her own. She turned to look at the blonde sitting right next to her. _Yep, hella fucking gay_ she could hear her internal dialogue as she looked into the blue of Gail's eyes.

"Holly" Gail whispered.

"Yeah?"

"Kiss me"

_Hella fucking gay and loving it_ she thought as she leaned in again.


	48. Breaking Breakfast

**Breaking Breakfast**

"Gail! Breakfast is ready!" the brunette called up to her girlfriend. She could hear her grumbling from the kitchen and then the sound of feet slowly descending the stairs. Her eyes were still squinting against the light of morning, but Holly could smell the shampoo so she had at least managed to shower.

"Good morning, sunshine" she said as she kissed the blonde's cheek and handed her a cup of coffee. Gail accepted but grumbled some more over Holly's peppiness.

Gail shuffled over to the table and sat down. Holly set a plate down in front of her. The pathologist made a point to get up and feed Gail a hearty breakfast on days she worked doubles, knowing her girlfriend would be eating from the vending machine and fast-food the rest of the day.

She watched as Gail slowly took a bite of the breakfast sandwich. Suddenly, her eyes widened. "Holly, what is this?"

Concerned something was off, Holly picked up her own food. "What's wrong with it?" she asked.

"Nothing. But what is it?"

"It's a sausage muffin"

"We can't eat this!"

"What? Why not?"

"Because we're lesbians!"

Holly was confused. She looked at her breakfast sandwich then at her girlfriend. Gail was suddenly awake, a playful twinkle in her eye.

"Oh God, Gail" she rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you're impossible."

"I'm just saying I think they would revoke our membership cards over this" she laughed as she took another bite.

"What is an appropriate lesbian breakfast then?" she asked.

She could see the wheels spinning behind Gail's eyes. "Get rid of the sausage all together and add strawberry jam every once in a while" she said with barely controlled laughter.

Holly shook her head, but couldn't help laughing. "Eat your breakfast, Gail."


	49. Gail kisses Holly in the coatroom

**AU where Gail kissed Holly in the coat room, not the other way around.**

"You're insane. You know that, right?" Holly said to Gail while they sat drinking champagne in the coat closet. Gail smiled at her, a lascivious look on her face.

"You have no idea" she growled. The brunette couldn't take her eyes from Gail's full, luscious lips that were coming closer and closer. When they were too close to focus on, she shifted her gaze to the blonde's eyes. The usual cobalt was a deepened sapphire, blazing with desire. Holly couldn't do much except let it happen and when Gail finally pressed her mouth against her own, her breath caught.

The kiss was tender, controlled, but Holly could feel the lust behind it. She opened up her eyes to see the wicked grin across Gail's face.

"Come on, Nerd. We're going home."


End file.
